Eden Ashley Chronicles
by EdenAshley
Summary: Stella and other female character. **FEMSLASH** You have been warned. A new CSI joins the team in New York. We follow her journey from day one, watch her grow, and watch the profound affect she has on Stella. PLEASE REVIEW : Rated M for FF relationship.
1. Chapter 1

_SO IVE REWRITTEN THE FIRST CHAPTER, AND WILL BE DOING THE SAME WITH THE REST, AND IVE ADDED A FEW MORE CHAPTERS, HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. I LIVE FOR REVIEWS, SO PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK, GOOD OR BAD. FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER Everybody_Lies__

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

She stares out in front of her, fixated on the pale metal doors, waiting in anticipation for them to open. Knowing that when they do, she will have finally arrived at her new home, her new life. The 'ding' of the elevator, springs her from her thoughts. She swallows nervously as the doors slide open, and she's here, no turning back now, Welcome to New York Detective Ashley.

Detective Eden Ashley steps out into the lab, and surveys her new surroundings, a mish mash of Mustard and Glass, it certainly is a lot more modern than her last lab back in Detroit, and a lot busier. People scuttling around like ants, no one really noticing that she was even there. The nature of working in the city she supposed. She realises that she has been standing in the corridor for an abnormal amount of time, and if anyone had taken the time to notice her, she would look kinda crazy, and kinda lost. She spy's the reception desk and moves towards the small blonde woman manning it, she has a hugely over enthusiastic grin, but Ashley decides she looks pleasant enough.

"Welcome to the New York Crime Lab Ma'am. Can I help you?"

Ashley smirks at the use of the word Ma'am; it made her feel like the Queen. And surprisingly old.

"Hi. My name's Eden Ashley. I'm here to see Mac Taylor." Ashley reveals her old Detroit PD badge to the receptionist to confirm her latest statement. The receptionists smile grows even wider, she seems almost excited.

"Detective Ashley, welcome to New York. Detective Taylor is expecting you; you can go right on ahead into his office." The still unnamed receptionist, motions with her head towards a series of glass walls and doors, to her left. Ashley follows her shrug with her eyes, "Thanks very much." Ashley smiles warmly back at the petite woman, then heads in the direction of Mac's office.

The feeling from the elevator resurfaces, in the pit of her stomach. Nerves or excitement, she can't quite put her finger on it. Whatever it was it doesn't matter now, she is here now. She swallows the feelings, and looks into Mac's office; Mac is leaning over his desk engrossed in a file. Ashley has heard so much about Mac and his team here in New York. She jumped at the chance to move here and work with them all. Apparently her reputation preceded her as well, she hadn't even met Mac yet and he'd given her the job. It certainly adds an amount of pressure, to an already difficult situation. She just hopes she can live up to expectations, and not let Mac's faith in her down.

Ashley gently knocks on the glass door. Mac looks up from the folder, a beaming smile hits his face, as soon as he sees her, and he waves her in excitedly.

"Detective Ashley. Welcome to New York." Mac stands and offers his hand to Ashley as he is speaking, she gratefully accepts it, a matching grin erupts onto her face, apparently Mac's smile is infectious. "How are you finding it so far?"

"Great, well I have only been here for two days, but the Big Apple certainly is different to Boston. A much faster pace." She can't help but smile back at Mac, his face is so full of warmth. It's at this point Ashley starts to relax, and feels she has made the correct decision to leave Detroit. It's immediately comfortable and familiar here. She always knew leaving her comfort zone, and her friends and colleagues back in Detroit was going to be challenging, no doubt, but she's getting the feeling she won't regret it.

"Are you all moved into your apartment?"

"Well all my stuff is there. Whether you would call it 'moved in' I'm not sure. I think I'll be living out of boxes for a while." Ashley mentally glances to the scene at her apartment currently. Mayhem is the first word that springs to mind. Mac just laughs.

"Well if you need a hand, I and any of the guys here will be happy to help. Speaking of which, I think it's time I introduced you to the team. I've not sent them on assignment yet. They're waiting for us in the lab."

Mac starts frantically scooping papers from his desk into his arms. "With all this happening so fast, I haven't actually told them that you will be joining us. I thought it would be a nice surprise. You're gunna be such a great asset to this lab."

"Thanks Mac. I'm glad you think so. I'm really excited to be here." Ashley inwardly cringes, 'excited to be here' deary me, real first day on the job speak. She follows Mac out of the office and they head to the main lab.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella is sitting rather impatiently in the main lab, along with Danny, Lindsay and Hawkes. And she is pissed. She has no idea what is going on, and the fact that Mac has left her out of the loop, is infuriating her. And the fact that now she is made to wait her, is serving to wind her up even more. Her anger must be apparent, as none of the guys have said to words to her, in fact they haven't said to words to each other, and they look kinda scared.

At this point Mac strides into the room, with another person, Stella has no idea who she is, but she does look vaguely familiar.

Mac and Ashley stand at the head of the room, Ashley starts to feel uncomfortable at the four sets of inquisitive eyes, currently fixated on her. That is until she spots one of expressions, less inquisitive, more downright pissed off. A woman she guessed around 35 year's old, curly hair. This definitely had to be Stella Bonasera. Ashley knows all about her, and was really excited about working with her, that was until she saw her current expression of course.

Stella has about a million and one questions racing through her brain. She still has no idea what's going on. Or who this woman is, and she hopes someone is going to offer an explanation soon. Stella continues to rack her brain to try and figure out why this woman looks so familiar. Although Mac begins to speak, she may well get her explanation. She tears her eyes from the mysterious stranger, and focuses on Mac.

"Thanks for your patience guys, I've got your assignments here and I promise I will send you on your way in a second." Mac has the attention of the whole room. Everyone looks confused, except Ashley, who wishes the ground would open up. All the pleasant thoughts from earlier rapidly disappear. Mac continues.

"I just wanted to introduce you to the newest member of the team. This is detective Eden Ashley; she's joining us from the crime lab in Detroit." Ashley tries her best to force an uncomfortable smile onto her face, while the rest of the room digests this information.

The penny immediately drops for Stella. On hearing her name she knew exactly where she knew Eden Ashley from, Crime Scene Digest. She was named as one of the top ten CSI's under 30 in the US. This is quite a coup for the lab, Stella was almost impressed. At least she would have been if she wasn't in the world's worst bad mood.

"Wait a sec, you're Detective Ashley? I just finished reading a paper of yours about stab wound markings. It was excellent." Lindsay is genuinely excited. This causes Ashley to pull her glace from Stella, who still by the way looks like she wants to kill her, and acknowledges Lindsay. Well at least one woman in the lab likes me, is Ashley's current thought. Lindsay grabs her hand and starts shaking it heartily, whilst smiling sincerely at her.

Ashley again can't help but grin back at Lindsay, damn what is it with these people and their infectious smiles?

"I can't believe you're gunna be working here. I'm Lindsay by the way."

She makes a mental note of the name; it won't be too hard to distinguish between her two female colleagues. Lindsay equals 'the nice one'.

"Nice to meet you Lindsay. I'm glad you liked my paper, weaponry is kinda my speciality, I'd be happy to show you a few things, now I'm here." Ashley again inwardly cringes at the niceties tumbling from her lips, not that she wasn't nice of course, but it all just seems a bit fake on her first day.

"That would be so awesome." Lindsay is still ginning like an idiot, when Danny moves past her and offers his hand to Ashley.

"Hi I'm Danny, Lindsay's husband." Ashley takes his hand still smiling; her jaw is actually starting to ache. Danny continues.

"Welcome to the team. So you're moving here from Detroit huh, but that accent, what is that British?" Ashley was wondering how long it would take for someone to pick up on her accent, although she had been in the states since she was 16, she is quite proud of the fact she's managed to keep her accent alive, well just about anyway.

"Yeah, English. I was born in Chicago, but moved to the UK when I was one. Moved back here at 16, but I guess the accent was already ingrained by then." Danny seems satisfied with the answer, and at this point Mac begins to talk again.

"And she comes highly recommended, as I'm sure you all know." Ashley really isn't sure how much of this she can take, everybody signing her praises, she is just itching to get out into the field now. She's aware of course there are still two members of the team she hasn't formally been introduced too. Although it seems as though this is about to change.

Stella had been quiet, maybe a little too quiet, watching all of the interactions in front of her. It seems that Ashley isn't the only one unimpressed with all the praise she's been getting. Stella's bad mood is about to take off. She can't quite put her finger on why, but it seems this Detective Ashley is really getting under her skin, who does she think she is?

"Mac, we can't afford to take on another CSI, the budget won't allow it."

Well that certainly sucked the air out of the room. Ouch, the smile immediately drops from Ashley's face. A weird tension descends on the room, nobody really knows where to look or what to do, except Mac who looks furious, and whose glare is firmly on Stella. Stella of course notices the sudden change of mood in the room, and is struggling to figure out exactly why she has just said what she has. But oh well there's no going back now.

"Well when I found out Detective Ashley was available, I looked over the budget and some adjustments were made. . . "Ashley can tell Mac is angry, he's speaking through clenched teeth. He also looks kinda shocked, she can't believe just how rude Stella is being, she decides she needs to show the team that she not scared to stand up for herself, defend her own honour, here goes nothing.

"I've actually taken a pay cut to come here." She says it a lot more determined than she feels.

Stella can't shake the mood, and before her brain has a chance to kick in and stop her, "Well unless you're working for free, the budget won't allow it."

Ouch again, well that told her. Ashley tries to cover the hurt she's feeling, not to mention the current burst of regret she's just had about taking the job. Stella notices the flash of hurt on Ashley's face, it was only there for a second, but she saw it. Her heart sinks, what on earth am I doing, why can't I snap out of this mood? Once again however stupid pride and stubbornness get in her way; Stella and Ashley just stand facing each other, mirroring scowls, both defiant.

"Stella we can discuss this later in my office. Right guys, Danny, Hawkes, there's a DB in the Bronx, I'll meet you there. Lindsay, why don't you and Detective Ashley take the suspicious circs in Time Square? Stella, my office now."

Stella knows she totally in the wrong. So she just huffs out of the office, closely followed by Mac. Ashley watches her leave, and then turns to Lindsay and smiles, relieved that they can finally get out on assignment.

"She's not usually like that; she's actually a really nice person." Lindsay is trying her best to reassure Ashley. She's not really buying what Lindsay is saying, but she swallows down her disappointment.

"Maybe it's just me she doesn't like." She smiles weakly at Lindsay, and looks away. Hawkes quickly introduces himself, before leaving with Danny.

Then Ashley and Lindsay head out also. Ashley can't help but feel confused; this certainly wasn't the start to the day she was expecting. Especially not from Stella, she was one of the main reason's Ashley wanted to come to New York. Oh well. Things can only get better.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Mac strides into his office. He is furious, and Stella knows it; she's messed up big time. Mac moves round his desk, whilst Stella just stands sheepishly in front of the desk, arms folded and staring at the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you Stella?" Stella knows she's acted like a spoilt brat, so she doesn't speak, she just continues to look at the floor, hoping it will swallow her up.

"You know that Detective Ashley is one of the best young CSI's in the country. She could have had her pick of crime labs in America, hell the whole world. I thought you of all people would have understood me adjusting the budget to get her?"

"I do Mac, really I do."

"I don't think you do Stella. Appointing Eden Ashley is a coup for this lab. The main reason she wanted to work here was to work with us. Now she's going to be regretting that decision."

"Okay, okay Mac I get it. I'm in an awful mood today, and I shouldn't have taken it out on her, I will find her and make it better, I promise." Great, she thought now I've gotta go sucking up to the new kid on her first day. Wow I need to snap out of this mood, what is wrong with me.

With that thought she turns to leave Mac's office. Mac looks up from where he's now seated behind his desk. "Oh and Stella, snap out of this mood, I need you to head down to Time Square, and supervise Lindsay and Ashley. Be Nice."

Stella just smiles apologetically at Mac, and heads out of the lab. She still can't quite put her finger on why she has acted like such a bitch with Ashley, there is definitely something about her. Something which she decides she can figure out later. She needs to put this right, and fast.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley and Lindsay had just finished processing the scene; it was a newsagent in Time Square. The assistant who worked behind the counter had gone missing, they had a lead so they leaving to head off to another location, as they step out of store, Ashley see's Stella has joined them, and she is currently stood chatting to the lead Detective, who Ashley still hadn't been properly introduced to.

"Oh cool, Stella is here, let's put this truck," Lindsay gestured towards the evidence, "And I'll introduce you to Detective Flack."

Stella had noticed the two CSI's emerge from the building, she frowned, she was looking forward to this, she knew she only had herself to blame. She pulled her sunglasses off, as Ashley and Lindsay made their way over towards them.

When they finally got there, Lindsay was all smiles, Ashley still looks a little worried, and Stella can certainly understand this.

"Okay, Ashley," Lindsay begins, "This is detective Flack; he works closely with our shift so you'll see a lot of him."

Flack repeats the pattern that's been going on all day and extends his hand to Ashley, which again she accepts. She smiles at Flack, she knows she's gunna like this guy; she usually gets on with guys better than girls.

"Pleased to meet you Detective Flack."

"The pleasure is all mine."

Ha ha ha, Ashley has to laugh at this. "Smooth." He smiles sheepishly but takes it with the good banter it was intended. Stella watches the exchange between the two of them, it makes her feel weird, and just confirms that she was actually being a bitch earlier, Ashley seems really easy to get along with. She decides she needs to make things right asap.

"So what's happening guys?"

Lindsay updates Stella. "Well shots have been fired in there, but there's no sign of blood, and no sign of the girl who should have been in work. We've collected so trace, and the bullets, and we've had a tip off about the missing girls' boyfriend."

"Sounds like you've been busy. Lindsay, why don't you and Flack go and look up the boyfriend." Ashley freezes; she knows exactly where this is going. "Ashley, you can ride back to the lab with me, and we can start processing what you've collected. Sound good?"

Stella makes a point of making eye contact with Ashley, who really doesn't look impressed, but smiles anyway, "That's fine by me."

With that Lindsay gives Ashley a wry smile, and heads to her car with Flack. Stella moves for her car without saying another word. Ashley just sighs and follows, she figures it took her and Lindsay around 20 minutes to get here from the lab; this was going to be an awkward ride. Ashley climbs into the passenger seat, and pulls on her seat belt. She becomes fixated on New York, just stares out of the window.

Stella can see Ashley is in no mood for talking, and she completely gets why. She starts the car up, and heads back to the lab, she keeps looking over at Ashley, which doesn't go unnoticed, trying to figure out in her head how she's going to break the ice. Stella's earlier mood has completely disappeared, but has now been replaced by one of complete embarrassment. She decides the best course of action is to just come straight out and apologise.

"I . . . Erm wanted to apologise for how I acted earlier." Stella looks away, Ashley smirks, at least she has the decency to actually be embarrassed about it.

"Don't worry about it, its fine." Ashley returns her gaze back out of the window, now she's being the bitch. She knew Stella was offering an Olive branch and she should just accept it, but she wanted to make her sweat a little longer.

Stella knew Ashley was making her work for this, and she deserves it. She decides to power through. "No its not. I was in an awful mood; I shouldn't have taken it out on you." She glances over at Ashley again, still no response, this spurs Stella on.

"I'm really excited about having you join the team. It's not often I get to work with someone voted the best young CSI in the country."

This gets Ashley's attention. Now it's her turn to be embarrassed. She cannot believe Stella saw that article. She looks over at Stella who is currently grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Maybe she's not so bad after all. At this point she decides she probably should give her another chance.

"I can't believe you saw that. It's so embarrassing." She cringes slightly as she remembers the article.

"Hardly embarrassing, just means you're one of the best at what you do. You should be proud." Stella is now genuinely excited by Ashley joining the team, her mood has done a complete 360. Ashley is also quite enjoying herself now.

"Hey I take immense pride in my work. But don't for a second think I believe half of that crap they printed about me. God I can feel my cheeks burning just thinking about it." They both laugh, Stella thinks Ashley is adorable, and she was right, she is really easy to get along with.

Ashley is glad that they seem to be back on track, and can't help but think how beautiful Stella is when she's not being a bitch. Whoa wait a second, beautiful? Where did that come from? Bad idea Ashley she is broken from her thoughts by Stella's voice.

"So how about we start over?" the car stops at lights, Stella smiles and offers Ashley her hand. "Hi I'm Stella Bonasera. Pleased to meet you."

Ashley accepts her hand. There's a definite spark of electricity between them, they both notice it, Ashley pushes it to the back of her mind and just repeats over and over in her head 'she's straight, bad idea'. Stella is just confused by it, luckily Ashley begins to speak before she can over analyse it.

"Nice to finally meet you Stella Bonasera. I'm Eden Ashley. Call me Ashley."

Again the two exchange smiles and relax back into the journey, which is completed in a comfortable silence. All Ashley can think about is how her first problem with her boss, could be turning into a completely different one. She decides she needs to keep things strictly professional, the last thing she needs is a crush on her boss. But damn she's attractive.

Stella is just happy everything between them is sorted. She can't get the feeling from when they touched out of her head, she can't quite put her finger on what it actually was, but she knew it definitely wasn't hatred which was a plus at this point; she just pushes it to the back of her mind.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The rest of Ashley's first day went pretty well. It's currently 6.30pm. Lindsay, Stella and Ashley solved their case. It turned out to be pretty simple in the end, jealous ex boyfriend had kidnapped the girl who worked in the newsagents; it wasn't nearly as interesting as they were hoping. Ashley is currently in the main lab finishing off paper work. She has arranged to meet Flack for a drink, to watch the Knicks game after shift.

She is just packing up her stuff when Adam walks into the lab; she was introduced to him earlier by Stella, who has been amazing with her all day. This morning is well and truly forgotten.

"Hey Ashley, so how was the first day?"

"Fine, after a bad start, things picked up quickly. And now I'm heading out for drinks, which is of course my favourite way to end the day." She smiles at Adam as she continues to throw stuff into her bag.

"Wow my kinda girl."

"Well I'm just heading to a bar round the corner, watching the Knicks game with Flack; you're more than welcome to join us."

"Wow drinking and a sports fan, you really are the perfect woman. But I wouldn't want to intrude on your date with Flack." Adam is teasing her now. The grin on his face confirms as much.

"It's not a date. I certainly don't want Flack to think it's a date, maybe its best if you do come along." Now she's worried, he doesn't actually think it's a date does he?

"Don't worry, I kinda get the impression that Flack isn't your type? And I think he gets that too." Wow looks like I'm busted Ashley thinks to herself.

"That obvious huh?" She decides there's no point denying it.

"Not really in general, but to the trained eye." Interesting she thinks, 'trained eye'. Adam continues, "Well that and the way you've been drooling over Stella all day." Okay that's got Ashley's attention, Adam notices the look of panic that spreads on her face, and bursts out laughing.

"I have not." She protests, Adam just keeps on laughing, which in turn makes Ashley laugh. She decides she needs to get serious though, she doesn't want the whole lab knowing her business. "Listen Adam. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone. I'm kinda private about this; I'd like to tell people in my own time."

"My lips are sealed. And don't worry I totally get the attraction to Stella." He wiggles his eyebrows, the way he says it has Ashley intrigued. Him and Stella? Surely not? Well if she's slept with Adam maybe I stand a chance after all. This thought makes Ashley chuckle to herself.

"You and Stella, really?" Adam just smiles.

"Maybe I'll divulge more over drinks." With that he walks out of the lab, Ashley follows him. Her final thought is, I think I'm gunna like it here after all.

**XXXXXXXXX**

_REMEMBER LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW. ;)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Eden Ashley has been working at the New York crime lab, for just over a month now. Everything is going great, work is going great. Slowly but surely she is getting her apartment sorted too. This is mainly thanks to Adam and Flack helping her unpack, in exchange for Pizza and Beer. Ashley has slotted in so well, and has been made feel so welcome, especially by those two, this is probably down to the fact that she can be herself completely with them. Finally she seems to have her little crush on Stella under complete control, thank God.

She is currently heading towards the main lab, its 8.45am Wednesday morning. It's been an uneventful week so far. Little does she know how much that is all about to change.

Stella is in the main lab with Mac, Danny and Flack; she can't believe what's happening. She also hates the fact that they are discussing Eden behind her back. "I think we should just wait until she gets here, before we all over react. She probably has a perfectly good explanation." Stella was practically pleading now. Just as she finished getting her words out, Ashley strolls into the lab. Stella immediately stops talking and looks down at the floor; this action is mirrored by Flack and Danny.

Ashley can feel the tension in the room. She can tell the conversation stopped as soon as she stepped in, which is pretty conclusive evidence that she was the topic, which is confirmed by the shady looks on everyone's faces. She is currently racking her brain to try and figure out exactly what she's done wrong. When she comes up with a blank, she decides she better ask.

"Err is everything okay?" Obviously not, Stella still can't bring herself to look up from the floor. Mac breaks the silence.

"Eden, where were you last night?" Ashley doesn't say anything, she is so confused. Mac continues. "Between the hours of midnight and three am?"

Stella inwardly cringes at how Mac has phrased the question; she still can't bear to look at Eden. Ashley is even more confused, but now also a little worried. "Is there any particular reason you're asking me like I'm a suspect?"

Initially nobody says anything, she looks over a Stella internally pleading with her to look up and give her one of her famous reassuring looks. Stella can feel Eden stare on her, but she can't bring herself to make eye contact. The panic begins to rise in Ashley. "What the hell is going on here guys? Am I a suspect for something?"

Stella can't take this anymore. Over the last few weeks, she has become incredibly protective over Eden. Her head whips up at Eden's words, she needs to reassure her, and give her some form of explanation. "No of course not." She inwardly wrestles to find the right words to continue. Ashley can see Stella is in turmoil, which just increases the panic level in Ashley another notch. Luckily for Stella, Mac steps in to save her from her anguish. It seems Ashley is finally going to get the explanation she craves.

"Do you know a Jenifer Sturridge?" Ashley wracks her brain, trying to think of anyone she knows with that name. She draws a blank. Stella watches Ashley's expression closely willing her to come up with a reasonable explanation for all this. . .

"I don't think so; the name doesn't ring a bell." Ashley can tell this is obviously not the answer they were after. "Why? Should it?"

Mac continues. "She was murdered at home last night, sometime after 2am. She was found in bed this morning by her house keeper. She had been stabbed," Ashley listens but she still has no idea where she fits into this, she gestures for Mac to continue. "We found two DNA profiles on the bed sheets. One belonged to her, the other belonged to . . . you."

It all suddenly fits into place. Ashley's mind is racing, Jennifer, of course, she knew her as Jen; she hadn't bothered to ask her, her surname. Why would she? Mac can see her processing the info, but needs answers.

"Your fingerprints were all over her apartment. Can you explain this?"

"Yeah, I was at her place last night. She lives uptown right, 31st and Lexington?" Stella can see Ashley is starting to panic, and she can understand why, she's a little confused herself. Ashley is trying to get things straight in her head. This is like a nightmare; one she hope she wakes up from soon.

"Yeah. That's right. Ashley I thought you said you didn't know her?" Ashley looks up at Mac; he's staying incredibly calm, although he does look massively confused. Ashley takes a deep breath, resigned to the fact that ultimately nothing good can come out of this.

"I don't." Now Stella is extremely confused, and it looks as though she isn't the only one. Danny looks just as bewildered. Flack who has finally lifted his gaze from the floor; looks slightly less confused. Understandable, he gives Ashley a reassuring smile. She knows she is going to have to explain, she really doesn't want to have to do this in front of Stella. After a quick glance at Stella she drags her eyes back to Mac.

"I think you better explain yourself Ashley."Everybody's stare is fixated on her now. The oxygen in the room seems to have gotten a lot thinner. She can't bear to look at anyone whilst she explains, especially not Stella, so it's now her turn to become mesmerised by the floor tiles.

"I don't know her, not really. I only met her last night. I was in a bar, we got talking, and I guess we hit it off. And we ended up going back to her place for a drink."

Ashley chances a look up at Stella, she looks confused. She doesn't just look it, she is now confused for a completely different reason, why would she go back to someone's apartment, that she just met? As she posed the question to herself in her own head, this seemed to make the penny drop in her, mind, but she wanted to be sure she was correct. Ashley meanwhile looks over to Flack for reassurance, which he provides in the form of another smile. Mac looks the most confused he's been all day, he needs clarification.

"Let me get this straight, you meet a girl in a bar, and you end up going back to her place for a drink? And you've only known her for five minutes?" When Mac puts it like that it just confirms Stella's previous thought. She actually feels quick hurt that she didn't know this about Eden, it's obvious to her now that Flack knows, she feels really disappointed, strange, well she couldn't put her finger on exactly how she felt, but she definitely felt something, which was unexpected. It seems the only person in the room still be dense is Mac. Ashley resorts to pleading.

"Come on Mac; don't make me spell it out." She makes eye contact with the still completely bemused Mac, its appears she is in fact going to have to spell it out. She exhales loudly. "It was a one night stand Mac." Finally the penny drops. The expression on Mac's face is like a light bulb above his head just switched on. Ashley continues.

That's why I didn't recognise her name, I only knew her as Jen." Ashley looks up at everyone in the room. Danny and Stella have reverted to looking at the floor. She could swear Stella looks a little hurt. Stella is surprised to find that she is a little hurt, she's not sure if it's because Eden felt she couldn't share this part of her life with her, or if it was a slight pang of jealousy? Surely not? Stella shakes it off; there are far more important things for her to be concentrating on right now. Ashley continues. "It's not something I'm proud of."

And it really isn't. Ashley isn't adverse to one night stands; it's something she's done in the past, but never with a complete stranger. But what is she supposed to do; she's only been in New York for five weeks.

At this point Ashley suddenly realises she's been concentrating on the wrong thing. She was so worried about coming out to the team, it momentarily slipped her mind that this girl is now dead and she's a suspect.

"Mac she was alive when I left. I swear."

"I believe you. What time did you leave?" Ashley is comforted by Mac's quick backing. But she realises she is still in trouble. She can feel her eyes filling up, but she is determined not to let the tears fall. She cannot believe this is happening.

"Around 12.30."

"Right go with Flack, he needs to ask you some questions."

"He's going to interview me? Like a suspect?" Flack obviously hears the panic in her voice.

"Hey Ashley relax, I'm going to take a statement, you're the last person to see this girl alive. No one thinks you're involved in this."

Stella has been relatively quiet up to this point, silently mulling over her own reaction to Eden's bombshell. She moves towards Eden almost involuntarily, she has an overwhelming urge to comfort her. She places her hand on Eden's shoulder. Ashley can't bring herself to look at Stella. Stella is actually worried about her, obviously Eden was extremely reluctant to share this part of her life with the team, but she has no idea why, the only thing she is sure of is that there must be more to it. Although she is still struggling to come to terms with her own reaction to Eden's news, and the strange feeling its caused within her, she know she needs to reassure her, and let her know that they all have her back.

"No one suspects you of anything okay. The evidence will find whoever did this okay. Danny lets go." With that Stella and Danny leave the lab, Stella with a new found determinism to clear Eden's name. Mac goes to follow.

"Stella's right okay. No one thinks you've done anything wrong. But I can't have you anywhere near this. Give your statement to Flack, and then I want you on desk duty until this is resolved. Okay." She just nods. Mac leaves the room. Ashley turns to Flack; she can no longer hold in the tears, they begin to run freely down her cheeks. Flack envelopes her into a bear hug.

"Come here everything is going to be okay." He kisses her head, she feels safe. "Let's go grab a coffee and then head downstairs okay?"

Ashley just nods despondently and follows Flack out of the room.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Around 30 minutes have passed since Ashley came out to the whole team, and found herself at the centre of a murder investigation. She is currently sitting in the Interview room, across the table from Flack, just going over what happened last night.

"I got out of work around 8.30 last night; I headed straight for a bar I go to sometimes when I'm on my own. It's called Coyotes. Its downtown. I was having a drink, just one, and chatting to the barmaid, her name's Caitlin. She's cool; I've spoken to her a few times before. Anyway, this blonde comes up to me and says I look bored, she offered me a game of pool. I took her up on the offer. We got chatting, and as I said one thing led to another and she invited me back to hers."

"What time did you leave the bar?"

"Around ten, we got to her place around 10.30. We walked, it wasn't too far. We said hi to the concierge on the way in."

"That's good. You don't have to go into details about what happened inside the apartment. Unless you want to of course." Flack chuckles, and for the first time since she arrived at work Ashley smiles back; she appreciates him trying to lighten the mood. He continues. "What time did you leave the apartment?"

"Like I said to Mac it was around 12.30am, I got back to may place around 1am. I took a cab, I said hi to my concierge on the way in. And I'm pretty sure both buildings have CCTV at least in the lobby."

"That's great. And how was Jennifer when you left her apartment?"

"She was fine. She thanked for a great time, and said we should do it again sometime." She inhales loudly.

"Cool, well I'm gunna go verify the info you've given me. Ashley don't worry, we will find who did this. Why don't you go and wait upstairs." With that Flack rose from the table, and held the door open for Ashley.

"Thanks Flack."

Ashley trudges upstairs. Back through the corridors of the lab, she feels like everyone is looking at her. She continues arms folded. She stops when she feels a hand on her shoulder, she looks up to see Stella looking at her, face full of compassion.

Stella was just heading out to meet Flack, so they could verify Eden's story. When she noticed her back in the lab. "How are you holding up?" Stella already knows the answer to this question, Ashley looks like hell. She looks embarrassed, which Stella still doesn't understand.

"I'm not really, my heads all over the place; I can't believe this has happened. I feel like everyone's looking at me now."

"Well it's not because they think you're a murderer."

"That's not why I thought they were looking at me." Stella picks up on the meaning. She can't believe that Eden would be embarrassed about her sexuality. Ashley becomes very aware that Stella's hand is still on her shoulder. She can't help herself but look down at the hand. Stella see's this, and without thinking lets her hand drop down back by her side, and immediately regrets the speed at which she does it.

Ashley feels cold all of a sudden, so much so that she places her own hand onto the same spot, she just looks down at the floor, feeling almost rejected. Stella feels a weird tension between them, she doesn't care that Ashley is gay, she isn't remotely homophobic, so can't understand why there is this weird tension between them. Stella feels almost uncomfortable. She decides to put the feeling to one side for now; she needs to put Eden's mind at rest.

"Hey no one's looking at you because of that either. Unless they suddenly think they're in with a chance." Stella doesn't quite know where that came from, but is glad when a slight laugh escapes Eden's lips. Ashley still has no desire to look at or respond to Stella.

Again Stella finds it difficult to explain her next actions even to herself. But she can't help herself. She places her hand under Ashley's chin and gently pushes her head up, forcing Eden to make eye contact with her, when she does she is memorised by the sparkling sea of blue that meet her own eyes. The depth of feeling in Ashley's eyes almost takes Stella's breath away. She composes herself. . "Nobody cares if you're gay. And I have no idea why you think it's such a big deal. But it isn't. Okay?"

Ashley just nods she can feel the tears begin to sting her eyeballs again. And the last thing she wants to do is cry in front of Stella. Stella senses that she is uncomfortable, so releases her face. . "Why don't you camp out in my office for the rest of the day? That way you'll be away from prying eyes, and I can keep you updated."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, means I'll be able to keep my eye on you too."

"Thanks." Ashley is genuinely grateful. With that the two part ways, Ashley watches Stella make her way to the elevator, and then heads into her office. She sighs heavily as she collapses into Stella's chair and turns the computer on. What an awful so far, she thinks, may as well get on with some paperwork.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has been in Stella's office for a couple of hours now. She is going out of her mind. She has completed all of her outstanding paperwork, and rearrange Stella's desk, ad is currently resisting the urge to rearrange the entire office, she is pretty sure Stella wouldn't be too happy about that. She is relieved when she see's Adam walking towards the glass door, and is amused as he checks left then checks right, before opening the door and quickly steps through it, holding two coffees, and wearing a huge grin.

"Please tell me one of those is for me." Ashley gestures towards the coffee.

"Absolutely, Hazelnut Latte, your favourite. I thought you could probably use it today." He smiles as he hands it over.

"I knew I loved you for a reason." She smiles as she gratefully accepts the coffee and takes a sip. Divine.

"Anything for you Princess." Ashley nearly chokes on the coffee, which causes Adam to start wetting himself laughing.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling me Princess." He tries to apologise but can't quite get it out through all of his laughing.

"So how's it going out there in the real world? I'm starting to get cabin fever in this office."

"It's all good. I'm doing the labs on your case."

"Adam please don't refer to it as my case."

"Oh sorry yeah, but you know what I mean." She just nods."Between you and me, I've heard you could be in the clear. I'm sure Stella will come update you officially when she can."

Ashley is relieved, she has a million and one questions, but she knows she would be putting Adam in a really awkward position if she were to ask them, so she holds back for now.

Adam can see she is dying to know more, and he wants to put her out of her misery. He crouches down over the desk, and whispers, "On the down low, your story checked out perfect, got you on CCTV getting home at the time you said and everything." Ashley smiles at Adam's attempt at discretion, she can tell there is an impending change of subject when he straightens up and starts to talk full volume again, "On another note. I think I may have lost my crown as stud of the lab."

Ashley giggles, she feels a lot more relaxed with the info Adam has just given her regarding the case. So she is willing to entertain his banter; in the hope that it will take her mind off things. "Is that a title you've ever actually held?" the look of fake hurt on Adams face is classic, they both laugh out loud. The first time today Ashley has felt like laughing. "What makes you say that anyway?"

"Couple of the lab hotties, seem interested, now they know you bat for the other team." Ha Ashley laughs again at his turn of phrase. "What are you laughing at? I'm being serious."

"Adam please, not one person in this lab is remotely gay, besides even if they were, the first person I have sex with in New York, ends up brutally murdered. Yeah I'm sure they're queuing up."

Now it's Adam's turn to laugh. "First of all no one here thought you were gay, appearances can be deceiving, there are a few interested parties trust me. Secondly, no one in this lab is stupid enough to think that you sleeping with that girl is why she died!"

"You make a good point." Adam smiles as he rises from his chair.

"I have to go Princess, ill check back in later." Ashley tut's and shakes her head as Adam leaves the room. She smiles to herself. Looks like this day is slowly getting better.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

It's been a really difficult day for Stella, she has thrown all of her efforts into clearing Eden's name, and ultimately she has been successful. A small smile escapes her lips as she has the thought. At the moment she is on route to her office to give Eden the good news. She is still rather unsettled by the emotional affect today has had on her. Her heart actually ached when she first heard that Eden was a suspect, and now that she is in the clear, she feels as though her heart could burst with excitement.

This is the first time she has really allowed herself to really think about these 'feelings', she has merely brushed them off in the past, but could it be possible she was having feelings, romantic feelings, for another woman? No that definetly wasn't it; she has never been attracted to another woman before. Eden was different though, is it possible she's attracted to her? To Eden the person, Eden the woman? That is definitely more plausible, and actually quite terrifying.

Stella swallows her fear as she reaches her office, she peaks in, the light is on but there is no sign of Eden. She quietly enters, and sees Eden asleep on the couch. The vision before her takes Stella's breath away. She looks beautiful. That terrifying feeling from moments earlier reaches the pit of her stomach, again her heart seems to take control of her actions, and she gently sits down on the couch next to the cause of all her anxiety, and reaches out . . .

Ashley's brain seems to wake up a few seconds ahead of the rest of her body. For that initial moment she is in darkness. She can however feel something on her face, stroking her face. Her brain assess' that she has obviously fallen asleep. Ashley suddenly realises that someone is however touching her face. Ashley springs upright, and opens her eyes. She registers that she is on the couch in Stella's office. She is now bolt upright, it takes her a few seconds to get her bearings, when she does she realises Stella is sitting on the couch with her, her hand still on Ashley's face.

"God Stella, you scared the life out of me." Stella smirks, as she removes her hand from Eden's face. All Ashley can think is 'God she is beautiful when she smile, and by the way, why is she stroking my face?' guess she's not completely over her little crush.

Stella seems to read Ashley's mind and becomes very aware that she has just been caught stroking her face, she decides a swift change of subject, is best. "Sorry. What are you still doing here? It's almost 9."

"9pm, you're joking, what are you still doing here?" Stella still has a beaming smile on her face, and that burst of pride returns to her heart.

"Well I've just finished my case." Now it's Ashley's turn to smile.

"So unless you're here to arrest me, can I take it, its good news?" Stella nods, and Ashley sits up properly on the couch allowing Stella to sit next to her.

"It's great news, was there ever any doubt? It was her girlfriend, apparently they were on a break, she saw you leaving the apartment, and wasn't too happy. We got a full confession."

"Well I know this is going to sound really cold, not to mention really selfish, considering someone has died, but I'm so relieved."

Stella can understand this as she has the same feeling of elation. She still can't get something out of her mind, she and Eden have become close over the last few weeks, she can't understand why she didn't tell her she was gay, and it's not like Eden to hide who she is.

The two of them have been sitting in silence for a few minutes; Ashley looks over at Stella, and can see she is fighting with herself, she obviously wants to say something, but doesn't know if she should. Ashley tries to prompt her a little.

"Hey what is it?" Stella looks over at Ashley with her piercing blue eyes; they are full of confusion at the moment.

"Why didn't you tell me you were gay?" Stella needs to understand, before the feelings she was having were just weird, now she knows about Ashley, they are full of possibility, excitement, terror.

But more than that she feels, betrayed, she knows it's irrational, but she can't believe Ashley wouldn't have told her, when they have grown so close. Stella starts to fret; maybe they aren't as close as she thought. Then the dreaded realisation that the feelings she have may not be returned by Eden. How arrogant was she? Just because she's gay doesn't mean she feels the same way, and even if she did, what did she think was going to happen, she couldn't have a relationship with another woman. Stella starts to panic; she needs to regain her composure.

Ashley feels awful at Stella's last statement, she and Stella have grown pretty close over the last few weeks. She could have told her, but there is something holding her back, something she isn't willing to share yet, and something she hasn't even shared with Adam or Flack.

Stella decides to put all the thoughts flooding her mind to one side and deal with the issue in hand.

"You told Adam and Flack, why not me?" Ashley can hear the hurt in Stella's voice now, as well as see it in her face.

"I didn't tell Adam and Flack, they guessed. If they hadn't I probably wouldn't have told them either." Ashley knew it was pathetic as soon as she said it.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Stella is desperate for an explanation, even if Eden had just said it was because she is private about her private life, that would have been acceptable, Stella knows it goes deeper than that.

"I'm sorry Stella. But I do have my reasons. Maybe one day I'll tell you what they are."

With that Ashley stands up and leaves the office. She knows she's hurt Stella, she not entirely sure why she is so hurt, so confused. Maybe she thinks she don't value their friendship as much as she does, she's wrong. Ashley muses that she ordinarily wouldn't have told anyone by now, five weeks isn't enough time to suss people out.

Something is nagging at Ashley that maybe there is more to this than just friendship, but she can't put her finger on quite what it could be. All she can think about now, is the way Stella was stroking her face when she was sleeping. Dangerous territory Ashley, very dangerous.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AGAIN ANY FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

It's been a few weeks since Ashley was a suspect in a murder case; thankfully things have calmed down a lot since then. Well she hasn't been accused of anymore crimes anyway. Ashley and Adam are currently playing a little one on one, on a basketball court just around the corner from work. Adam is taking getting beaten by a girl to well. He's trying his best to put her off.

He decides mind games are his next trick. He's got the ball with Ashley facing him, with her back to the hoop; defence stance ready to pounce on what she feels is an inevitable mistake from Adam. "So how are things with you and Stella?" Adam has a glint in his eye as he broaches the subject. Ashley laughs inwardly, she thinks, does he really think that's gunna put me off?

"What 'things' are you referring to?" he tries to dribble past her, but she marks him tight, and they return to starting positions.

"Come on Princess, don't be like that." Mission accomplished, this winds Ashley up, she hates Adam's little pet name. She lunges at the ball; Adam dips past her and throws it in the hoop. Damn.

Delight for Adam. "Seriously though, how's your little conversion project coming on?" Ashley retrieves the balls, roles have now reversed and she's trying to score.

"You are joking? I know you think I've got a little crush on her, and I'm willing to admit she is hot. But I'm not insane enough to think she'd be remotely interested in me."

"Yeah right, I've seen the two of you together. You go into this weird Stella, Eden world, it's like there's no one else in the room."

"Dude seriously, there's nothing going on. Stella's y'know straight. This really isn't going to put me off my game."

"I'm not trying to wind you up, I'm serious, I think you'd have a shot."

Jackpot, an evil idea starts to form in Ashley's head, she can't help but smirk. . "You know, when I think about it, Stella hasn't had a boyfriend for a while." Adam smiles, he thinks he's got Ashley. She dribble's the ball a little.

"Come to think of it, the last guy she was with was probably you." This makes Adam take note, his posture changes and he stands upright.

"So? What are you saying?" Ashley has him right where she wants him.

"Well you know maybe I should be thanking you. Her experience with you was obviously so bad, its led to her being open minded about being with a woman." Adam's eyes glaze over a little. He stops dead. Ashley takes full advantage of the situation, and dribbles straight past him, and scores the winning points.

"She shoots, she scores." With that Ashley runs over to where there bags are, and grabs hers. "Come on Adam, we've gotta get to work."

**XXXXXXXXX**

The elevator pings open and Adam and Ashley are back at the lab. They head straight for the changing rooms. The five minute walk over has been a painful one for Ashley.

"You don't really think that's true do you?" Ashley is beginning to wish she hadn't said anything; it's all she's heard all the way back from the court.

"Of course I don't, look I was just teasing you to win at basketball, I'm sure you're very good in bed."

With that Ashley jumps into the women's changing room before Adam gets a chance to bombard her with anymore of his moaning.

The locker room is empty, which Ashley is pleased about; she takes a quick peek into the showers to make sure no one is in there either. They are empty too. Good. She starts to take off her t-shirt, and throws it onto the floor. It's at this point the locker room door swings open and someone walks in. Ashley freezes.

"Oh hey Eden." Stella enters the room. Ashley doesn't speak, she deduces Stella hasn't looked at her properly yet. She still doesn't speak, doesn't move, she only just realises that she's holding her breath. She just stands in her bra and shorts, not speaking, waiting for the reaction she knows is coming.

Stella is busy looking at a file when she enters the room, when Eden doesn't respond to her greeting, she pulls her gaze from the file over to where Eden is standing, and she is just stood not moving, with her back to her. Stella fully concentrates on Eden; she takes a large intake of breath as she sees what is obviously the reason why Ashley hasn't moved. There is a huge scar on Eden's back. Approximately 7 inches long, it goes from right to left on the lower part of her back. Before Stella can even comprehend what she's doing she's moved to Eden and her hands are on her back tracing the line of her scar. Ashley releases the breath she's been holding and turns around to face Stella. She has tears in her eyes, she looks into Stella's eyes, they are stunningly blue, and full of concern. Stella moves her eyes down to Eden's stomach, where she sees the second of Ashley's scars. This one is about 9 inches and straight down.

Stella moves her hand down and traces the outline of the scar on her stomach, mirroring what she did with the one on the back. Ashley just stands there still, not quite sure of what to do. She realises her eyes are closed. When she opens them she see's that Stella's eyes are filled with tears as well.

Stella can't believe what she is seeing, who would have done this to her. She must have barely survived, the scars are huge.

Ashley can't take it anymore; the atmosphere in the room is suffocating. Ashley reaches down and moves Stella's hand from her stomach. Stella needs to know what happened.

"Eden, what happened to you?"

Ashley blinks and a tear rolls down her cheek. She reaches up and wipes it away. "You remember I told you I had my reasons for not telling people I'm gay?" Ashley can't bring herself to look at Stella, so she just looks down at her scar. Stella understands immediately. Somebody did this to her because she was gay? No wonder she didn't want to tell anyone. Stella can't help the tears that start to fall from her eyes, and gasps. Ashley sees Stella begin to weep, and it destroys her, she can no longer hold back the emotion, and tears begin to fall more and more freely from her eyes now, she can't stop them from flowing.

Stella needs confirmation that what she thinks is true. "Somebody did this to you because of your sexuality?"

It was a question Ashley couldn't answer, she couldn't speak, she just had to get away. "I don't wanna talk about it." And with that she runs into the showers, and quickly turns the water on.

Stella just stands there dumbfounded. She can't believe it. Can't believe that anyone would ever want to hurt her. But she decided she wasn't going to push Eden, she would let her talk to her in her own time. With that thought she composes herself and leaves the changing room.

Ashley hears the changing room door slam shut from the shower. She puts her head under the hot water as the sobs begin the wreck her body. She knew it would come out eventually, but not like that. She wasn't ready for that, for Stella to see her like that.

She sighs at the thought, her feeling for Stella are beginning to grow beyond a crush. The way Stella is with her, the way she touches her, like it's the most natural thing in the world, giving her hope that maybe something could happen between them. False hope surely? The rational part of her brain is screaming that it's not possible. Ashley decides she needs to distance herself from Stella, but she needs to explain her scars properly first.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has managed to avoid Stella all day, she still feels kinda embarrassed about earlier. But she's made a deal with herself, If Stella is in her office when Ashley finishes her shift, then she will talk it out with her. She thinks to herself, that's probably why she's finished all of her paperwork today, and it's now fairly late. As she approaches Stella's office she realises she needn't have bothered. Her light is on. Ashley approaches the door, she see's Stella engrossed in some papers, she can't help but smile at the sight of her, glasses on, in full concentration. She has got it so bad. She knocks on the door and sticks her head round.

Stella looks up at to see Eden at her door, she smiles. She knows Eden has been avoiding her all day, so she's glad she is the one to approach her, but she doesn't want to push her. "Hey Eden, you okay?"

"Yeah. How long do you think you're going to be?" Ashley gestures towards her paperwork, secretly hoping it's too important for her to leave.

"I can finish right now, this isn't important, just some extra reading. Why what's up?" Wow Ashley is actually nervous, she feels a little sick.

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to grab a drink, I thought we could talk y'know about earlier?" Ashley looks at her feet, struggling to make eye contact with her, and hoping that Stella doesn't think she is asking her out on a date.

Stella is delighted that Eden wants to talk and wastes no time in accepting her offer. "Sure, gimme a second to grab my coat and I'll be right out."

Ashley is relieved; she walks over to the elevator, and waits. It doesn't take Stella too long to join her.

"So where you taking me?" Stella says it with an almost flirtatious smile, she is actually excited, and hopeful that her and Eden can sort this out and move on. Ashley on the other hand realises she hasn't thought this through properly, she has no idea where they can go.

"Hey I'm the new girl, I don't know where's good round here. You choose. I will of course pay." They step onto the elevator and press the button for the ground floor whilst they're talking.

"Okay, well we can go to Maguire's; it's only a few minutes away." They step off the elevator and out of the building. It's a chilly night; Ashley pulls her coat closer around herself. Stella was right; the bar was only a few doors down. They haven't spoken since the elevator. But it has been a comfortable silence, as they stride into the bar; Ashley begins to feel a lot more nervous about the impending conversation.

"What do you want? To drink I mean?" Stella can tell Eden is nervous. She smiles to reassure her.

"Relax; we don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. I'll have a glass of white wine, and I'll go and grab us a table over there." She points over to one of the booths, and then starts to head towards it, whilst removing her coat. Ashley looks over to the barmaid, who is smirking back at her.

"You heard the lady, large glass of white, and I'll have a Rose cheers." She smiles. Once Ashley has the drinks, she heads over to Stella, who smiles as she approaches. Ashley passes her drink, and sits in the booth next to her.

Now they are here, Ashley doesn't know what to say. She decides general chit chat is the best way to start. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful." Well that went well, Ashley thinks to herself, as she takes a sip of her wine.

"Eden, I meant it when I said we don't have to talk about earlier." Stella is desperate not to scare her off again like earlier.

"No I want to. I told you ages ago I would tell you why I didn't come out to everyone. That's what I'm going to do. I know I hurt you by not telling you."

"You told me, you'd tell me when you're ready. If that's not now that's okay. I am happy you feel as though you can talk to me." Stella is very sincere, and Ashley appreciates this. Stella decides to be a little braver, now they are in a less formal environment.

"It's weird isn't it, this connection between us." Ashley is quite taken aback, she knew she thought there was a connection, but she didn't in a million years believe Stella felt it too, she was almost certain she'd created it as part of her crush. She's brought out of her thoughts when Stella continues to speak. "I feel like I've known you a lot longer than two months. Things are so comfortable between us. It's hard to explain."

Ashley cuts in, "I know exactly what you mean, I've never felt like this before, like you say it's . . . weird." Ashley worries she's gone too far, with the use of the word 'felt'. Stella however thinks it's a perfect description, she's certainly never felt this way before, and was still trying to come to terms with what exactly that meant.

Ashley moves back to the issue in hand. "I want to tell you, it's just hard."

"I know, take your time." Stella grabs her hand, and squeezes it to reassure her. Ashley decides the best way to handle this is to just power through, so here goes nothing.

"Okay, so you saw my scars earlier. Obviously I know you're a good enough CSI to realise they were stab wounds." Ashley looks up at Stella for confirmation; the smile is no longer on her face, her expression as turned to one of sadness. Stella just nods at Ashley. Prompting her to continue.

"Ten years ago, I was twenty years old, and just about to graduate the Academy in Boston. Me and my girlfriend at the time, Katy, where walking home one evening. It wasn't late, but it was winter so it was dark. Anyway, we were stopped by some old guy in the park. He asked us for directions, he was a priest so we figured we were pretty safe." She looks up at Stella for confirmation to continue, Stella's mind is racing with questions, but she keeps her expression the same, and silently urges Ashley to continue.

"I'm a little sketchy on what happened next, before I knew it I was on the floor, id been stabbed twice. I couldn't move. He had his hands all over Katy." Ashley takes a deep breath, and swallows the emotion that she feels; she's cried enough tears over that night. "He made her beg for her life. And it turned out he killed her anyway."

Stella is shocked by the story, she can't comprehend, that someone could do that to Eden, because of who she is, she can feel the rage rising in her, and it turns into frustrated tears, which are now falling freely from her eyes. She has an overwhelming, and quite ridiculous sense of guilt, that she didn't protect Eden. And has the overwhelming urge to protect her from this day on. It's at this point she knows the feelings have surpassed merely 'weird'. She has actual feelings for her, another woman, no not another woman, Eden. She knows there really isn't a distinction, but to her there is. Is she falling for her? All these thoughts are still swirling around her brain when Ashley continues.

"I don't really remember anything after that, I lost consciousness, and the next thing I remember was waking up in hospital. Katy was dead. It wasn't until the trail he finally gave his reasons for doing it. He'd been following us for a while. Said it was God's instruction to kill us both for our sins. He was carrying out God's work to eradicate the earth of evil homosexuals like us."

Ashley smiles wryly and takes another deep breath as she looks over at Stella. Her face is a mess from all the tears that have spilled. "Oh Eden, I can't believe someone could do that to you." It was all Stella could manage to get out at the minute; her head was still spinning from her own earlier revelation.

"Yeah well. I've been kinda weird about telling people I'm gay since then. It's nothing to do with being ashamed. I'm very proud of who I am, I just worry about people's reactions, y'know?"

"Yeah well that's understandable" Stella wipes her eyes as she speaks. Ashley is glad she told Stella, she feels like a weight has been lifted. But again it's breaking her heart to see Stella in the state she's in at the moment. She feels like she should at least attempt to repair the mood.

"Come on, I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted you to understand, why I didn't tell you straight away. Let's try and rescue the evening hey?"

Stella laughs a little, she feels like drinking now; it's been an emotional twenty minutes or so. Stella just nods her head.

Ashley smiles, "Are you hungry? We could get something to eat?"

And just like that, they moved on from it, and spent the whole night as if the first conversation had never happened. They had a great night, and learnt a lot more about each other. Ashley smiled to herself at the end of the night, it would have been the perfect first date. There she goes playing that dangerous game again; little did she know Stella was playing it too in her own head. Ashley decides it needs to stop, but Stella sure isn't making it easy for her, with the way she acts, making Ashley believe maybe there could be a chance for them. And that's her last thought before she closes her eyes to go to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**THIS IS A SHORTER CHAPTER. NEXT ONE SHOULD BE A LOT LONGER. I KNOW I KEEP SAYING THIS, BUT I REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE SOME REVIEWS, GOOD BAD OR UGLY. COULD REALLY USE THE FEEDBACK!**

**THANKS IN ADVANCE IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley is in the main lab, lab coat on, looking like a geek; well at least that's how she sees it. She is currently leaning over the centre table, looking at strips of material with a magnifying glass. She doesn't have a case at the moment, so she's going over the evidence from an old unsolved one, she's searching for a drop of blood, or trace or anything that might help her break the case. In her heart she knows she won't find it, but this doesn't deter her, she is currently engrossed in what she's doing.

Stella has been watching Ashley from the doorway for a couple of minutes; she loves how dedicated to her work she is. Stella smiles to herself she thinks she looks cute in her lab coat; she knows how much Eden hates it. Stella knows she can't stay here watching her for hours, so she decides she better do what she's come here to do. She moves away from the door, and grabs Eden on the shoulder.

Ashley still engrossed, absolutely jumps out of her skin. She jumps up and turns around to see Stella smirking at her.

"Jesus Stella, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Ashley is taking frantic breaths trying to regain her composure.

"Why so jumpy Ashley?" Stella can't help the evil grin that spreads on her face, Ashley can tell Stella's in a playful mood by the use of her last name rather than the 'Eden' she usually gets from her. Stella continues, "Come on Shorty, we've got a case."

"Hey just cos I don't wear those killer heals like you, doesn't mean I short." Stella laughs, and begins to fill her in on the details whilst Ashley begins to pack her evidence away.

"42 year old female, found dead at home this morning by her husband. Upper East Side." Ashley raises her eyebrows, she's learning more and more about New York, and knows that the Upper East Side is definitely one of the most affluent areas.

"Very posh, is the husband a suspect?"

"Of course, they always are, but we better get down there and establish exactly what's happened. Apparently COD isn't obvious; it may not even be murder."

Now Ashley's interested, she loves a good puzzle. She grabs her jacket and they both head out of the lab. Smiling.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They've been at the crime scene for around 20 minutes. Ashley is taking photos of the body, whilst Stella is glove up looking around the room for evidence. Flack has the husband in the other room, interrogating him. The victim is in her underwear in the middle of the room, just laid out. They weren't kidding when they said COD wasn't obvious, there isn't a mark on her.

Well that's not entirely true; there are two small marks just under her armpits. They are about 3cm long, very precise; they are almost certainly from surgery of some description.

"Hey Stella, what do you think of our Vic's breasts?" Stella almost drops the papers she going through at Ashley's words, and walks over to her.

"You know Ashley it's not exactly respectful of the dead, for you to be checking out their breasts. It's also pretty gross." Stella puts on a mock disgusted look, Ashley just smiles to herself.

"You're sick, do you know that. I wasn't checking them out. Look at them; do they look real to you?" She motions towards the breast, Stella follows her gaze and looks at the Vic's breasts, it's difficult to tell, as they are of course still encased in a bra, but you can definitely make out the outline of implants.

"Well I'm by no means an expert in breasts, like you." Stella looks over at Ashley, still with the cheeky grin on her face; she loves how playful she and Eden can be. Eden just raises her eyebrows, and looks unimpressed, waiting for an answer. "But yeah I guess they're not the most natural looking things I've seen."

"And you can see the incisions just under the armpit, on either side. I'd say they're definitely fake."

"Well that's all well and good Ashley, but does this have any relevance to the case." Ashley just looks over at Stella, hugely unimpressed, why on earth does she think I'm bringing it up if it's not relevant. I'm not that gay.

"Of course it's relevant. Do you remember about 3 weeks ago, me and Danny had a case, a lot like this one, 40 something year old female, no apparent cause of death, we never solved the case because we had no idea what killed her, we still don't. We didn't know where to start."

That's got Stella's attention now, she's listening intently, all jokes firmly to one side.

"Well the only thing I thought was weird at the time, was that she had just had cosmetic surgery. She'd had her cheeks done."

Stella looks confused. "Her cheeks done?"

"Yeah you know, like cheek implants, not everyone has cheek bones to die for. Anyway there wasn't anything suspicious about the surgery at the time so we didn't follow up. But this is all a bit too similar."

Stella nods. "I agree, where did the first Vic have 'her cheeks done'?" Ashley laughs at the face Stella pulls when she says it, she obviously isn't a fan of weird cosmetic surgery, not that Ashley was either of course, but she just has a less judgemental 'each to their own' outlook on life.

"Erm it was at the Transforming Lives, Private Hospital. They specialise in this sort of thing."

"Wow I never would of guessed with a name like that." Ashley smiles. Stella just shakes her head, unbelievable the lengths woman will go to for vanity. She shouts Flack into the room, and tells him to bring the Vic's husband, Mr Jones with him. They step into the room. Mr Jones is clearly upset; he looks over and catches a glimpse of his wife's body, and starts to sob. Ashley tries to calm him down, thinking maybe they should have just gone into the other room.

"Mr Jones, I'm so sorry for your loss." He just nods. "I notice your wife has some small incisions near her armpits. They look recent?"

"She had breast implants. Said it was for my birthday, I thought she was perfect the way she was." Stella and Ashley look at each other; Stella continues to probe Mr Jones.

"Mr Jones when did your wife have the surgery and where?"

"About a month ago, at that Transforming Lives Clinic, with Doctor Lovely. He's a real piece of work." Stella and Ashley again look at each other knowingly.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They jump straight in the Chevy, and head right to the clinic. It was only a five minute drive, and they are still firmly in the most well off part of Manhattan. On the way they heard from Adam, who had been doing some research back at the lab, there have actually been 3 mysterious deaths of 40 something woman, less than a month after having surgery at this particular clinic.

When they arrive at the clinic it is exactly as they both imagined minimal, clean lines and white walls. They were greeted by a receptionist who was dressed in an outfit as white as the walls, and she had the personality to match, ice cold.

Ashley and Stella are currently sitting in the waiting room, in silence. Ashley feels slightly uncomfortable, surrounded by 40 to 50 year old women, some older, and bizarrely some men all around the same age. As Ashley is taking in her surroundings, she catches a glance at Stella who appears to be doing the same thing; Ashley's heart skips a beat, as it usually does when she looks at Stella. The ice queen receptionist breaks them both out of their reverie.

"Doctor Lovely will see you now." Ashley can't help but smirk at the name; she looks over to Stella again who reciprocates her smirk. They rise up from their seats and follow the receptionist into the Doctor's office.

The Doctor is much as they thought he would be as well. Smarmy, glistening white teeth, over exaggerated smile, perfect hair, not a strand out of place, slick, Full of himself. His does nothing to dispel their first impression when he opens his mouth.

"Well well well, NYPD are certainly hiring a different calibre of detective these days. How can I help you ladies?"

Ashley feels her eyes inadvertently roll, what a tool this guy is, Mr Jones was right this guy is real piece of work. Stella begins to speak.

"Carol Jones. Lily Knowles and Sarah Johnson. Ring any bell?" Stella is standing arms crossed with a determined look on face, she wasn't about to take any crap for this idiot. Ashley looks over admiringly at her, she has the look on her face that she always gets when she's well into a case, and she knows she's got her man.

"I don't think so." He gives the two of them a cheesy smile. At this point Ashley jumps in.

"Now I find that very hard to believe, you see they have all been patients' of yours, in the last three months." He cuts her off, Ashley hates it when that happens.

"Detective . . . "he lingers, obviously waiting for her to give her name. It's like a silent battle of wills. She of course gives in first.

"Ashley." He smirks; wow this guy is really winding her up.

"Detective Ashley, I see approximately 60 patients a month, and perform at least 25 procedures each month, you can't really expect me to remember the names of all my patients."

"Well they all died, within weeks of having their procedure here. Maybe that will help you remember them." He loses his composure for the first time since they have been there, only for a split second, but they both saw it. He of course fully regains it. It's like a stone wall going up in front of his face, any scent of emotion is gone.

"And I suppose you think that has something to do with the procedures they had here?"

Stella exhales loudly, she may as well have just said 'well dur?' this guy is really starting to annoy her, she settles instead for, "Three women, all die within weeks of having an operation here, and what you think it's a coincidence?"

"That's the only explanation I can offer, it's certainly nothing to do with this clinic." As he is saying this he rises from his seat behind his desk, and makes his way over to Stella, he has a red pen in his hand.

Stella is confused, and a little intimidated by his actions, Ashley has the same confused look as Stella, and just watches intently as the scene unfolds in front of her.

"You have an amazing bone structure. You are a stunningly beautiful woman Detective." He is now firmly in front of Stella, and she is not impressed at all. "I could help you maintain these looks, by making you look ten years younger, just a nip here and a tuck there." Stella doesn't know whether to explode with rage or burst into tears.

Ashley is dumbfounded, so much so that she can't actually move; she is just standing there open mouthed. How dare he? As far as Ashley is concerned Stella is perfect, she needs no nipping or tucking of any description. Although she must say the look on Stella's face at the moment is priceless. The lovely Doctor flips the cap off the red pen; both Stella and Ashley have the horrible realisation at this moment, that its one of 'those' pens, that would be used for drawing on people. Ashley can't believe it; he's not actually going to try to draw on her is he? The tension in the room is intolerable at the moment. He lifts the pen to Stella's face, she is about to lift off. She can actually feel her cheeks turning red.

"May I?" Stella clenches her jaw, and as politely and composed as she can she spits out, "no you may not."

With this Doctor not so lovely shrugs his shoulders and moves back round to his side of the desk. Ashley gaze is still fixed on Stella, trying to figure out if she is okay. She just looks mightily unimpressed. Ashley decides this now needs to get wrapped up fairly quickly, before Stella kills their suspect.

"Right well, if you've got nothing to hide you won't mind us having a look around then?" He gives her that awful smirk again.

"Detective Ashley, I'd love to help you out, but I can't just have cops all over my clinic. I believe the correct procedure would be for you to get a warrant?"

Stella pipes in. "We'll be back with a warrant." And with that they both turn and leave the office. They are stopped in their tracks when Lovely opens his mouth again.

"I highly doubt that, if you had one shred of evidence against me or my lab, you would have come here with a warrant."

He is of course right. It's going to be impossible for them to get a warrant based on the evidence they have so far. They need something concrete. As they make their way to the car, Ashley is deep in thought thinking about what it could actually be from the clinic, causing the deaths.

Stella hasn't said a word, her train of thought is completely different to Ashley's, she's mortified by what's just happened and in front of Eden as well. Sure she was a few years older than her, but only like six, nothing momentous. She's worried that Ashley will start looking at her like an old lady now. Which is ridiculous, as she hasn't yet, and has no plans to actually do anything about the feelings she has for her? Needless to say, the charming Doctor has really gotten to her. They both climb into the car, Ashley starts to think out loud as she putting her seatbelt on.

"Well it can't be any sort of superbug, that place was clean. I mean there wasn't a speck of dirt anywhere."

Stella really isn't listening to Ashley at this point; she's still away in her own world. "Mmmmmm".

Wow great input Stel. Ashley can't believe she would let that creep get to her this much. Ashley continues in the hope that Stella will snap out of this mood.

"So what else would all of the procedures have in common? Cos the procedures themselves were all different, so it can't be that, and they were all on different parts of the body, so it can't be affecting a certain organ or anything like that."

"Mmmmmmm." Ashley decides to let this non response fly, as she's on a roll thought wise.

"So really the only thing in common, was the surgery aspect, and what does all surgery have in common?" She looks over to Stella expectantly, but she is just staring into space, playing with the car keys.

"Stella. Stella." Her head snaps up, she looks over to Ashley, her eyes full of sadness, Ashley hates seeing her like this. "Come on Stella; don't let that jerk get to you like this."

Stella see's the concern etched on Ashley's face, and decides to let it go and get her head back into the case, she shakes her head, as if shaking the negative thoughts away. "You're right, you're right. I'm fine; I'm back in the case."

Ashley knows a brave face when she sees one. Drastic action is needed.

"Stella look at me." She looks up into her eyes, Ashley can still see the doubt in her deep blue eyes, unbelievable, she's looking at Eden expectantly, and she realises Stella is waiting for her to say something. "You're beautiful. Like seriously one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in real life."

This causes her to smile, and her heart explodes, she can barely breathe. Ashley sees the sparkle return to Stella's eyes, her work here is done. Stella doesn't stop to think, she grabs Eden and envelopes her into a hug.

"Thank you." She whispers into Eden's neck, who is a bit taken aback by the display of affection, not that she's complaining of course. But she has to swallow down her emotion at Stella's next words, "You always make me feel better." Ashley has to close her eyes; she can feel a lump forming in her throat. Stella feels at home in Ashley's arms with her face buried in the crook of her neck. She gets lost in the moment.

Ashley feels it's all getting a bit intense, she pulls back from the hug, they lock eyes, Stella can't seem to look away, she finally feels the nervousness of the moment. Ashley is too scared to do anything; she blinks, and looks away.

"Yeah so as I was saying, the only other thing in common, is the anaesthetic." The mistiness that had been apparent in Stella's eyes seconds ago quickly disappears. She almost kissed me was Stella's current thought, but she quickly gets her focus back, as Ashley starts to flip through the folders on her knee, looking for the evidence to confirm her theory.

"Yep, yep, they all had different procedures, but they all needed to be put to sleep using a general anaesthetic." She looks up from the folder, at Stella who is just looking back smiling.

"You're a genius Eden. We've gotta get the evidence linking the deaths to the anaesthetic." With that Stella gets the keys in the ignition and they drive off back towards the lab.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The anaesthetic turned out to be the case breaker. The good Doctor had been importing some cheap third world stuff from god knows where, completely illegal to use in the US, and the 3 victims all had Asthma something which had made them particularly susceptible. He won't go down for murder unfortunately, but gross negligence manslaughter. The smarmy smile certainly evaporated from his face when Stella and Ashley charged him. Classic.

It's currently 6.30pm, Ashley is heading for the exit, it's been a long day, and she is looking forward to getting out of the lab.

Stella is currently lost in her own thoughts in the changing room. She is sitting on the bench in the middle of the room. All of today's goings on are starting to get to her. Not so much the Doctor Lovely stuff, she could just about cope with that. But what happened in car afterwards with Eden, she really thought they were going to kiss. What scared her the most was how much she wanted it in that moment. And all the questions were swirling around her brain; did she want to be with Eden? Maybe, but to be in a public relationship with her, with another woman – which is all it would be to outsiders, she's not ready for that, is it because she's embarrassed? She's not sure, she would be immensely proud to be with Eden, maybe embarrassed isn't the correct word, it seems too harsh.

Stella hasn't noticed Ashley in the door way, on her way to the elevator she glanced into the changing room, and saw Stella slumped; it was obvious there was something wrong with her, Ashley just assumes it's the Doctor, so she sets her bag down at the door and walks into the room, gently closing the door behind her. Stella doesn't seem to have noticed that she is in the room, as she exhales loudly.

"Stella?" she looks up at Ashley slightly startled, there's a ghost of a smile on her face, as she is genuinely happy to see her. All Ashley see's her eyes filled with sorrow, she looks tired. Ashley sits down on the bench next to her.

"Is everything okay?" She shakes her head as if she's trying to shake the sorrow right out. She plasters and obviously fake smile onto her face and looks up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She's lying, they both know it.

Ashley just looks at her; she knows that Stella knows that she isn't buying any of this fakeness.

"Stella, this is me. You can talk to me." Stella can't take the emotion of it anymore, she looks away from Eden. Ashley who still thinks this is all down to Doctor Lovely, she was confused however, she didn't think Stella would let something like that, get to her this much. Ashley feels sick that, that idiot has made her feel like this. She can't shake the feeling that it's just not like her, she is usually so confident.

Ashley places her hand on Stella's shoulder, causing her to look at her again. When she looks into Ashley's eyes, she can see they are glistening with tears, this breaks Ashley's heart. Without even thinking, she moves her hand from Stella's shoulder, up to her cheek, and begins to caress her cheek with her thumb. Ashley can feel her heart beating through her chest, she daren't breathe. Stella leans into her touch, she closes her eyes, and she feels comfort, which is exactly what she needs at this precise moment in time.

"Is this about what happened earlier?" Stella opens her eyes, of course it is about what happened earlier, but Stella knows Ashley is referring to what happened at the clinic, which is of course only half of the story. Ashley reads the expression on Stella's face as meaning that her current mood is down to the Doctor. And she can't believe it, how can Stella think she is anything but stunningly beautiful. Ashley's emotions take over, her brain doesn't have control over her actions at the moment, and she can feel herself leaning in towards Stella. The stare between them never breaks, eyes locked. Stella knows what is about to happen, she has a nervous, excited, panicked feeling growing in her stomach. But knowing what is about to happen, she wants it to happen. She doesn't move away, she just waits. Ashley see's the familiar mist develop in her eyes.

It seems like an eternity, but eventually their lips meet. Ashley gently kisses her at first, to see if she responds, she's fully prepared for her to pull away and ask her what the hell she thinks she's doing. But Stella doesn't, she kisses her back, responding slowly at first, she can't believe how right this feels, and becomes lost in the kiss. The passion sparks between them, the kiss becomes more vigorous, Ashley moves her hand from her face into her hair, and Stella moves her hands to Ashley's back, pulling her in closer trying to taste more of her. It's wonderful, now it's Ashley's turn to be engrossed in the kiss.

All of a sudden the panic starts to rise in Stella's brain, all those question from a few mere moments ago return, a relationship with a woman, the embarrassment? Was it embarrassment, she wasn't sure, but her anxiety reaches the maximum level. She regrets her next action almost as soon as she's done it.

Ashley is taken by surprise, she doesn't actually know what has happened straight away, there is just a smack of pain through her left cheek. It takes her a few seconds for her to compose herself and for her brain to actually catch up to reality. When it finally does catch up, it's like a haze lifting, she looks over to the door of the changing room, Stella is stood looking as shocked as Ashley, but with tears streaming down her face, she can't actually believe what she's just done, Ashley looks so hurt. It's at this point Ashley realises Stella has slapped her, and that what's caused the searing pain down the left hand side of her face.

She looks over to Stella again, who can't bear to look at the hurt she's caused Ashley, both physically – there's a massive red mark on the side of her face, and emotionally – her eyes are filling up with tears. She just bolts out of the changing room and runs for her office. Ashley, who is still sitting on the bench, just leans forward and puts her head in her hands. Well that went well. She can feel the tears roll down into her hands. What have I done?

**XXXXXXXXX**

**OKAY GUYS I HAVE WRITTEN THE NEXT CHAPTER, BUT I'M STILL NOT ENTIRELY SURE THE DIRECTION I WANNA GO NEXT.**

**DO YOU WANT THE STORY TO GO ANGSTY? OR WOULD YOU PREFER FOR THINGS TO BE RESOLVED PRETTY QUICKY?**

**LET ME KNOW WITH REVIEWS, I MAY TRY AND GET SOMTHING UP TOMORROW, IF YOU LET ME KNOW WHICH DIRECTION YOU PREFER?**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

The morning after the night before. Ashley is feeling rather sheepish. She also has quite the black eye, which she isn't looking forward to explaining to everybody, everybody of course except Stella. She sulks into the break room, and finds Adam in there making coffee.

"Hey Princess. You want?" Adam has his back to Ashley and hasn't properly looked over at her yet.

"Yeah sure." The fact that Ashley totally lets slide his 'Princess' jibe, causes him concern and makes him take notice. He instantly see's the massive shiner. He is over to Ashley in an instant, inspecting her, he is slightly amused.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Ashley can see the playfulness in Adam's eyes, she is actually glad he's not taking it too seriously, something she's sure not to expect from Mac.

"I don't really wanna talk about it. What do you reckon; can I get away with wearing shades when Mac hands out assignments?" She smiles trying to joke her way through this. But the way she is shifting her weight side to side, Adam can tell she is nervous. He knows when not to push Ashley; this is definitely one of those times.

"If you wanna talk about it, you know where I am. We can go get a drink or something later?"

"Now that sounds like a great idea. I'll catch you later." With this Ashley heads out of the break room and strides towards the Main lab. Coffee in hand. When she arrives everyone is already in there. Ashley feels sick. Nervous.

Stella looks up as the door of the main lab swings open, she see's Eden step in, she looks tired. Stella immediately see's the black eye, and her heart sinks into the pit of her stomach. Ashley makes the mistake of looking up, and see's Stella's gaze fixated on her, she can't bear to make eye contact, so she looks away instantly, and starts to concentrate on her coffee, like it's the most interesting thing she's ever laid eyes on.

Mac has obviously seen the black eye, as has everybody else in the room. Ashley keeps her head down, waiting for the inevitable to come. Mac doesn't disappoint.

"Wow, Ashley, you look like you've done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson." Ashley had been thinking about how she was going to explain away the black eye, the truth obviously wasn't an option, she has an elaborate back story prepared, well not so much elaborate.

"I was playing Soccer after work last night; I took an elbow in the face." She tried to make it sound as convincing as possible. Stella was impressed, if not slightly relieved that Eden hadn't dropped her in it.

Mac at least gave the impression that he believed the story. "Ouch, well maybe its best if you stick to lab work today, don't one of New York's finest strolling around in the general public, sporting that."

Great. Now Ashley is pissed off, she was already in a foul mood after having no sleep; she'd been in emotional hell all night. And now getting kicked off assignments. Admittedly she was mad at herself more than anything, but mad as hell all the same. But what can she do, she has no option but to comply.

"Fine." Ashley huff's out of the main lab, and heads towards one of the smaller labs, to make herself comfortable for the rest of the day. In the back of her mind, she knows at some point today she is going to have to talk to Stella.

Stella had watched the exchange between Eden and Mac, and felt really uncomfortable. She knows this is all her fault, she feels bad enough about the black eye, and now Eden had been thrown on desk duty because of it. Stella was still in inner turmoil over the kiss, and over Eden in general, she is still so confused about what she actually wants, and how she actually feels. Her head and heart are in mass conflict. Even she isn't sure which is going to win out.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It was about two thirds of the way through shift, and so far Stella has managed to avoid Eden. This had of course been made easier by the fact that she had been out on assignment all day, and Eden was still locked away in the lab.

Stella is back in her office at the moment; her suspect is down in the PD being questioned by Flack. She has an hour to kill. She has just replaced the receiver on her telephone. She already had a feeling she was going to regret making the call she just had. But she had come to the decision that she needs to see if these feelings for Eden are real, or if they just exist in this separate 'CSI world'.

She had called Mark, he works in the DA's office, he had been flirting with her a few weeks ago, and left her his card. She had no intention of ever using it, but now with her head all over the place, she just needs an escape. So she has just arranged to meet him for drinks after work. She already wasn't looking forward to it.

Stella was pulled from her thoughts, by a knock at her office door. She looks up to see Eden through the glass door; she can't help the smile that forms on her face as she sees her. Eden still looks as uneasy as she did earlier in the main lab.

Ashley had heard Stella was back in the building, and decided she was going to get this out of the way sooner rather than later. Stella waves her into the office. Ashley felt defeated already; she has resigned herself to the fact that nothing romantic was ever going to happen between her and Stella, the slap was pretty conclusive evidence of that. So this is about damage limitation, she still wants the two of them to be friends, if it's at all possible.

Ashley has been standing in Stella office for a minute or so now, and still hasn't said anything. Stella can see about a million thoughts racing through Eden's mind. "Eden, can I help you?"

Ashley looks up at the use of her name; she loves how Stella is the only person at the lab to use her first name. She mentally shakes her head, these are exactly the kind of thoughts she needs to get rid of. She decides to just get it all out.

"Erm yeah. I just wanted to say how sorry I am about yesterday. I was out of order. And it won't happen again." Not for the first time today, Ashley can't bear to look at Stella, so she just looks at her own feet, feeling rather pathetic, and rather open.

Stella can feel her chest getting tighter; Eden is blaming herself for it all. She listens as she continues. "I don't know what came over me, I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable, and I hope we can go back to being friends."

At this point Ashley composes herself and looks up at Stella; she can't read the expression on her face. This is mainly because Stella doesn't really know what to think, this is just adding to all of her previous confusion, she knows however that she isn't about to let Eden take all of the blame, and all of the responsibility for the kiss.

"Eden don't be so hard on yourself, I kissed you back remember." And remember they did, this sentence took them both directly back to the kiss last night, they both got shivers, and that electricity returned between their gaze, as they both became captivated in the other's eyes.

They were broken from the moment by Flack bursting into the office.

"Hey Ashley. Adam told me you'd been fighting."

"I haven't been fighting." Flack laughs.

"Hey okay, I submit, I submit." Ashley smiles at his attempt at humour. "He also said something about drinks later?"

"Yeah, you in? Knicks are playing too."

"You bet. Anything to cheer my favourite lady up." He winks at Ashley then turns his attention to Stella; he obviously has an update on their case. Ashley takes this as he signal to leave. Stella watches her go, smiling, but more confused than ever.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It's finally the end of shift, and it's been an awful day for Ashley, she cannot wait to meet Adam and Flack, and have a boat load of drinks. She is running a little late, and has arranged to meet them at the bar. She is just heading for the elevator, when she notices a man looking lost in the foyer. Ashley makes the instant judgement that the guy looks a complete sleaze. Sharp suit, greasy hair, She instantly dislikes him. So much so that she walks straight past him and pushes the button for the elevator.

"Excuse me miss." Miss? Well he has done nothing to endear himself to her, how patronising, she turns to face the greasy man. "My name is Mark Oliver. I'm looking for Stella Bonasera?"

"She's just about to finish her shift, come back tomorrow." Ashley is in no mood to be dealing with this jackass.

"Oh I know she's finished. I'm her date; were going for drinks and dancing." This hit Ashley hard; it was literally like she has been stabbed in the heart, she actually struggled to breathe for a second. The sleaze ball continues. "Do you know how long she is likely to be?"

Anger rises. Ashley doesn't know why she's so mad; if Stella wants to date she is perfectly entitled to. She certainly has no right to be angry about it. Anger is quickly replaced by pain; she is surprised at how hurt she is by this. She has to get away from this man.

"Wait here, I'll go and see how long she's likely to be." She storms to Stella's office and walks straight in, trying her best to keep her emotions in check.

Stella is startled, but again a smile instantly forms on her face when she sees it's Eden. But vanishes just as quickly when she sees the look on her face.

"Hey Eden, I thought you were going for drinks with the guys. Is everything okay?" Stella obviously knows the answer to this is no.

Ashley is determined to keep her emotions in check, and not act the idiot with Stella, she doesn't want to jeopardise the already unstable friendship they have.

"Everything is fine. I was just heading out. I bumped into your date at the elevator; he wants to know how long you're going to be. What should I tell him?"

As hard as she tries, Ashley can't mask the pain in her voice, she just stands arms folded looking at Stella, waiting for an answer.

Stella feels hopeless; at least she knows what's wrong now. If she's honest she had completely forgotten that she had arranged to meet Mark, which is probably why he's shown up here. Her mind had been so focused on her case, and on Eden that everything else dropped out of her head.

She looked up at Eden, she knew there was no point trying to explain, the barriers have gone up, and her face lacked the emotion that her voice had given away only moments earlier.

"I'll be out in a second."

"Great I'll let him know." Ashley just turns and walks out of the office. She really needs a drink now, what a crappy end to a crappy day.

Stella tidies away the files on her desk, resigned to the fact that she has hurt the woman she loves, again. Possibly beyond repair this time. Then it dawns on Stella, Loves? It looks as though her heart may be winning out over her head after all. Either way it was going to be a long night; she could hardly cancel the date with Mark now he was in the building.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**ONCE AGAIN LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. IVE GOT THE NEXT CHAPTER WRITTEN, AND WILL TRY AND GET IT UP LATER TODAY.**

**PLEASE REVIEW, ITS WHAT I LIVE FOR LOL ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

A week or so has passed since Stella had her date with Mark. It was awful, she cringes just recalling it. Mark thought that buying her dinner, meant he was going home with her. In the end she had to make it abundantly clear that, that wasn't going to happen. His confidence certainly took a bashing.

Stella couldn't decide if Eden was avoiding her, or if it was just coincidence that they hadn't really had a chance to talk. She guessed unfortunately that it was probably the former. She sighed. Another shift has just come to an end, and she hadn't really seen Eden all day, her heart aches at the thought. She isn't surprised though, for all Eden knew Stella was still dating Mark. Stella decided rather than go back to an empty apartment she would stay in her office and catch up on paperwork, not for the first time in the last week.

Ashley on the other hand has just left the building. She has been feeling more and more despondent about the whole Stella situation. The thought of her and Mark together was killing her. She has been drinking a lot recently, in fact was considering hitting a bar right now, better than going to an empty apartment. Ashley knows she's on self-destruct mode right now; she has to snap out of it, plenty more fish in the sea and all that. She's disturbed from her thoughts by someone calling her name; unfortunately she recognises the smarmy voice.

"Detective Ashley. Hi, I thought I recognised you." Mark Oliver.

"Mr Oliver. How are you? I think Stella's working late tonight." He looks confused.

"Stella? She didn't tell you? We only went out that once." Ashley lifted her head, and looked at him like he had two heads. He obviously didn't seem to notice. The enormity of his words sunk in with Ashley, newly perked up she decides she's gunna have fun with this idiot.

"Really? Not quite the stud you think you are then hey?"

"Ha, well it's hard with someone as frigid as Bonasera." Ashley clenches her teeth; her blood is quite literally boiling. "She sold me some story about not believing in sex before marriage. So I kicked her to the kerb."

Ashley can't help the laugh that escapes lips. "Stella told you she doesn't believe in sex before marriage. Man that is the funniest thing I've heard. I think maybe she just didn't believe in sex with you, full stop."

Oliver seems to be a little wounded by this comment, but he lets it slide, it will take more than that to break his confidence. "Yeah well forget about her, I need a real woman, who knows how to satisfy a man. So what do you say, can I buy you a drink?"

Ashley is in disbelief; her mouth is literally hanging open. "Well for starters I wouldn't have a clue how to satisfy a man."

"Aw you're not a goody two shoes like your boss are you? There was a time when NYPD knew how to have a good time."

"I'm far from good. I'm also far from straight." The penny seems to drop immediately. Maybe Oliver isn't as stupid as he looks after all.

"You're a dyke?" There is a vicious undertone to his voice, Ashley instantly feels uncomfortable, she glances around the street, and notices for the first time that it's pretty empty, not to mention pitch black. He continues.

"Well that explains a lot, maybe its catching, maybe that's why Stella wasn't interested."

"Or maybe it's just because you're an idiot." Ashley couldn't help it, the words just rolled off her tongue. She immediately regretted it due to their current situation. This tipped Oliver over the edge; he grabs hold of her and pushes her into a dark alley.

"Maybe I should teach you some manners." Ashley sees a crazy look in his eyes, and smells alcohol on his breath, he has her up against the wall, and she starts to struggle against him. Ashley mind can't help but go back to that place ten years ago. She tries to block it out, the panic starts to rise in her. Oliver has his face right in her face now, and he continues to taunt her.

"You know what women like you need?" He doesn't wait for an answer, which is good because Ashley is incapable of giving one. "You need a real man, to show you what you're missing."

With this he forces his lips onto Ashley's, assaulting them, a complete contrast to the last kiss she had savoured. His actions took her by surprise, so much so that it takes her brain a few seconds to catch up. When it does, she bites down hard, taking his bottom lip into her mouth, and piercing it with her teeth. It has the desired effect, she can immediately taste blood, he stops what he's doing immediately, but in a split second he has punched Ashley square in the face. Right on the nose, blood everywhere.

"You bitch; I can't believe you bit me." Oliver staggered out of the alley. Ashley takes some deep breaths, frantically trying to regain her composure. She was so frightened, that was a little too close to history repeating itself, she begins to sob. She quickly makes the decision rather than walk the streets of New York covered in blood, she will head back up to the lab to clean up. She takes the back way; she really isn't in the mood for answer questions about her current state.

A few minutes later when Ashley reaches the lab, she is happy to see that its relatively empty, just a few cleaners and lab techs, she keeps her head down to avoid prying eyes. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees the light on in Stella's office. Because of the way she has entered the lab, the back way, she now has to pass Stella's office to get to the locker room. Dammit, she hasn't thought this through.

Alternative ways to get to the locker room are currently racing through her mind, too late the door to Stella's office opens.

Stella decided she needed coffee, so was heading to the break room, as soon as she stepped out of her office she knew there was someone there, she looks to her right, and is alarmed to see Eden, blood stained, tear stained. Panic starts to rise; she is over to Eden in an instant, full of concern.

"Eden what the hell happened?" Her hands are immediately on her face, inspecting her nose, he heart breaks when she sees fresh tears in her eyes.

"I bumped into your boyfriend outside." She moves her face out of Stella's reach.

"My what?" Then it dawns on Stella. "Mark Oliver? He did this to you?" Ashley just nods and looks away.

Stella is furious, now it's her blood that begins to boil. "I'm going to kill him." Stella runs back into her office and grabs her coat, she heads immediately to the elevator, the only thought on her mind is to get the bastard.

Ashley is too emotional to care, she just heads for the locker room, and starts to remove her clothes, well the blood stained ones anyway, she strips to her bra and jeans and heads over to the full length mirror to assess the damage. Her face is a mess. She feels no emotion, just takes a sponge and dips it into hot water, and just methodically starts to clean the bud from her face. Luckily her nose doesn't seem to be broken, thank god the last thing she wants to do is have to have a trip to the hospital. Her nose is however still bleeding, so she lies down on the bench in the middle of the room and hopes gravity will do its job and stop the flow.

It's in this position Stella finds her twenty minutes later. She sits on the bench beside her. Her initial anger has subsided, mainly due to the fact that she managed to grab Flack on her way out. They found Oliver in a local bar and promptly arrested him for assaulting a police officer. They decided to let him stew in the cells for the night; Flack can deal with him tomorrow. Once again Stella can't believe she has caused Eden so much pain.

"We arrested him."

Ashley sits up, the bleeding has finally stopped. "Good. That guy is a real piece of work, what did you ever see in him?"

"I didn't." Stella answered honestly. She feels so stupid.

Ashley is too tired and on the verge of being far too emotional, to get caught up in anything else with Stella right now. She decides the best course of action is to leave. She grabs a spare shirt from her locker, and grabs her bag, and heads to leave for the second time today, hopefully this will be a lot more successful.

"I'm tired, I'm gunna head home."

"Do you need a ride?" Stella desperately wanted to talk to Eden, to hold her, just to try and make her feel better, or give her one dash of comfort, but the state she's in right now she doesn't want to push her.

"Nah I'm okay thanks. Listen I think I might take the day off tomorrow."

"Yeah absolutely. I'll clear it with Mac. Take as much time as you need."

"Thanks, just the one day should be fine, I'm just really tired. I wanna sleep, and forget any of this ever happened."

As an exhausted Ashley heads for the exit, Stella hopes Eden is only referring to the events of today when she says she wants to forget, and not about Stella completely. She watched her leave, when the locker room door closes behind her, Stella slumps back onto the bench and begins to sob. She's supposed to protect the people she loves, and Eden just keeps getting hurt, over and over again. Stella longs to hold her and make everything better. Her heart actually aches because she is not with her right now. This is getting beyond a close. It's at this moment Stella finally decides that she needs to tell Eden how she feels, she cannot bear to be without her any longer, and she no longer cares what the repercussions of that are, or what anyone else thinks. But not tonight, tonight she will let her rest. With this thought clear in her mind Stella wipes her tears, confident, and excited about what tomorrow may hold.

Heart 1 Head 0.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The time has finally arrived. Stella has just finished work; she jumped straight into her car and headed over to Eden's apartment building. Currently she has just pulled up outside, and she was impressed. She knew Eden's address, but she has never actually been here before. It's an impressive modern building, with a concierge and everything.

Stella is nervous, but she tries to swallow it, she keeps repeating over and over again in her head 'this is going to happen'. She heads into the building smiling at the aforementioned concierge as she passes, he tips his hat at her, this makes her chuckle, just like in the movies. She feels really happy.

Eden is sitting on her balcony, feet up just looking out over the city. She loves sitting up here in the evening, looking out at New York, god she loves this place. She is feeling a lot better about life today; especially after the massive sleep she had last night. The depression that has engulfed her for the past few weeks, gone. She was trying to convince herself that this has nothing to do with finding out that Stella wasn't seeing Oliver, but it obviously was. There was no two ways about it; she is hooked on Stella Bonasera.

She is slightly startled when the buzzer for her apartment goes off, she isn't expecting anyone. She assumes it must be Adam coming round to check on her. She is definitely not expecting to see Stella standing there when she looks through the peep hole. She opens the door with a beaming smile on her face, which is reciprocated by Stella.

"I see you're in a better mood than yesterday." Stella smiles at Eden, her feeling of nervousness melted away as soon as she sees Eden smiling again.

"Stella, hey. Come on in." Ashley opens the door, locking it behind them once Stella steps through; Ashley heads straight through the living room, back out onto the balcony. Stella follows and is instantly mesmerised by the view.

"Wow Eden, this view is to die for."

Ashley smiles, Stella looks like a kid on Christmas morning, she doesn't respond the Stella's comment, just drinks her in. Beautiful.

Stella finally tears her eyes away from New York City, and gives Eden all of her attention. "This apartment is very impressive. I thought you said you took a pay cut to come here?"

Ashley can't help but laugh, seems Stella remembers everything she's said to her. "I did take a pay cut. I have a really nice grandmother, who also happens to be loaded."

"Rich grandparents hey? You never mentioned that before."

"Well I only reveal on a need to know basis, otherwise I'd never know if the girls were just after me for the money."

This makes Stella chuckle, she hasn't stopped smiling since she arrived here, she loves how comfortable they are, it's so natural, so right. "Well I gotta say you are a much more attractive prospect now."

Ashley raises an eyebrow at Stella referring to her as an attractive prospect, not really sure how she should react, so she just continues with the insane happy smile she's had plastered on her face for the last few minutes.

Stella decides no time like the present to do what she has come here to do. She sits down next to Eden, who has gone back to gazing out over the city.

Stella decides to gently bring up the subject of what happened yesterday. "So how's your nose?"

Ashley looks back over at Stella, a tension seems to descend in the air, it's like they both know something is about to happen, but Ashley isn't sure what, and this scares her a little. "It's okay, just a bit sore. But not broken, thank god, that wouldn't have been a good look."

"He was charged with assaulting a police officer this morning; he's going to plead guilty. He'll lose his job."

"Good." For the first time this evening Ashley frowns, thinking about that idiot has this affect on her. Stella feels like she needs to explain.

"I want you to know why I went out with him."

Ashley feels instantly awkward. " Stella you don't have too, it's really none of my business."

"Isn't it? And besides I want to tell you." Stella is determined she is going to explain herself; Ashley can sense this, so she motions for he to continue.

"When we kissed." Ashley can feel her cheeks starting to turn red; she turns away from Stella so she can't see her embarrassment. "It blew me away; I didn't know what to feel. I panicked. I never did apologise for slapping you."

"You don't have to." Stella has Ashley's full attention now. Ashley still has no idea what's going on, but she can feel the air leaving her lungs, must remember to breathe.

"Eden I wanted that kiss as much as you did, more even. That's what freaked me out, I didn't lash out because I didn't want to kiss you, it was because I wanted to so much. And I couldn't handle what that meant. I have never been attracted to a woman before. I thought going out with Mark, would give me some perspective."

"And did it?"

"It made me see things clearer than I ever have before. When I saw how hurt you where, when you found out about it. I hated myself for hurting you. I was worried I couldn't be in a relationship with a woman, but I was worried about it for all the wrong reasons, I was more worried about what other people would think."

Ashley could help but notice that most of what Stella had said was in the past tense. "'was worried' aren't you anymore?"

Stella smiled, she was tempted to tease Eden but that would be far too cruel. "Well I guess I realised that what I want is probably far more important than what other people think of me."

Ashley knew she was probably about to sound really dense, but she had to be absolutely sure what Stella saying. "And what do you want?"

Stella smiled; she is cute when she's nervous. She decides to spell it out as simply as she can. "You."

Ashley's heart explodes. A tear falls from her eye. But she has to make sure Stella is definitely sure this is what she wants. "You sure you know what you're letting yourself in for. I know you say you don't care what people think, but it can be pretty hard."

"I think as long as I've got you by my side, I can get through anything. That is, if you want to be by my side." Stella is suddenly very aware that Ashley hasn't actually said she has feelings for her back. She's beginning to feel slightly worried.

She needn't have. "Of course I do. God Stella, I've wanted to be with you since the moment I met you. Even though you were a bitch."

Stella relief is obvious, she exhales, and looks over at Ashley, who is smirking back at her, she really wants to kiss Stella but is understandably apprehensive after the last time. "I really want to kiss you, but I'm scared you'll hit me again."

Stella laughs, and moves towards Eden, grabbing her face in her hands, they both lean in to one another, and their lips meet. It's the most perfect kiss. It starts slowly, but it's filled with emotion, filled with love. Ashley pulls back, "I can't believe this happening."

"I know." I was all Stella could manage; she needed Eden's lips back on hers. She pulls her back in. Ashley is enjoying this, especially since this kiss isn't ending in a black eye.

The passion continues to grow between them; the kiss becomes a lot more forceful, this time its Stella that pulls back, Ashley is worried that they are moving too fast. This is why she is astounded by Stella's next words.

"Take me to bed." Stella is longing for this she needs it. She sees the surprise in Eden's eyes, she was probably expecting her to want to take things slowly, but Stella feels like they have been acting slowly enough.

"Are you sure?" the desire in Stella's eyes gives her the answer. But just in case that wasn't enough, Stella rises from the couch, and takes Eden's hand, pulling her up, she leads her inside without saying a word, Eden directs her to the bedroom, and Stella pulls her in closing the door behind them.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK GUYS. SORRY IT TOOK A BIT LONGER THAN EXPECTED, HAVING A NIGHTMARE IN RL AT THE MO! I SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE NEXT CHAPTER UP THURS/SUNDAY.**

**AS ALWAYS WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW. ALL FEEDBACK WELCOME.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

The morning after the night before, part two. Stella is asleep. Feeling extremely content, reminiscing in her dreams about the amazing night she had shared with Eden, just a few hours before. After they had made love the first time, they had ordered Chinese food, they were famished, and they talked not about anything really, just comfortable happy chatter. After that they had gone back to bed, only actually falling into an exhausted slumber about an hour or so ago. Stella, despite her confidence at the beginning of the evening, had been worried about a physical relationship with Eden, having never been with a woman before. She needn't have, it was amazing, the way Eden made her feel, the way Eden reacted to her touch, it was mind blowing, she can't believe she hadn't tried it earlier.

Stella is disturbed from her thoughts by a shrill sound, loud enough to wake her, she fights against the tiredness, her brain desperately trying to wake up to decipher what the noise is. As she starts to wake up the first thing she realises is that she is in Eden's arms, she could get used to this. The next thing she realises is that the shrill noise is her mobile phone ringing. This wakes her up fully, if someone is ringing at this time, it must be important.

She quickly releases herself from Eden's arms careful not to wake her, and starts to hunt through the discarded clothes on the floor, she quickly finds it, looking at the caller ID it's Mac, this must be important. She quickly answers. "Bonasera" She whispers, as somehow the phone its self hasn't woken up Eden, so she doesn't want to.

"Stella, its Mac, I need you at the lab ASAP, Marjorie Tiven has been kidnapped."

It took Stella a few minutes to digest the information. "Marjorie Tiven?" The penny dropped. "The Mayor's sister?"

"Yes."

"I'm on my way."

"Stella why are you whispering?"

"Mac it's the middle of the night." Stella quickly hangs up before Mac can question her further.

A few minutes later she has redressed back into her clothes from last night, she is in a hurry, as she has to go home and change, she can't turn up for work in the same clothes as yesterday. When she has gathered together everything she needs, she looks over at Eden, who is unbelievably still asleep, she looks so beautiful asleep like this. Stella bends down and kisses her on the forehead. Just seeing her like this affects Stella to the point she can feel her heart swell to bursting point. This woman was making her unbelievably happy, she still can't quite believe it. A woman, she would never have guessed, so God knows how the team will react.

She would have left a note for Eden, but she couldn't find anything to write it on, and really didn't have time to go hunting for paper. She figures she will just call her at a more reasonable hour.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is awoken by her alarm. Its 6am, she has slept extremely well, she opens her eyes and smiles as she remembers the night before. It was perfect, even better than she had ever imagined, and she'd imagined it a lot! She reaches out to touch focus of her thoughts, only to find her bed empty. No sign of Stella. She jumps up and out of bed, pulling on her dressing gown. On further inspection of her apartment, she realises Stella is nowhere to be found, nor is any of her stuff. If it hadn't been for the empty Chinese carton's Ashley would have wondered if Stella had ever been there. She tries not to panic too much, she just heads for the shower, she is meeting Adam before work for basketball.

It's around an hour later Ashley is on court with Adam. He knows there something wrong with her, the fact that he's winning is his first clue. She seems very distracted.

"Come on princess, this is too easy."

"Sorry Adam, I guess I'm not really in the mood." All she can think about is Stella, and how she must have had a change of heart, and bolted from her apartment this morning, she can't think of any other reason Stella would have left with so much as a good bye.

"Okay, I know there's something wrong with you, when you don't smack me for calling you 'princess'. You wanna talk about it?"

Ashley stops with the ball, she really wants to talk to someone, she knows she can trust Adam, she would trust him with her life. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone."

"Scouts honour." He beams at her whilst trying to do the scout signal with his fingers.

Ashley smiles. "I'm serious Adam, this can't go any further."

"Hey. This is me."

The smile disappeared from Adam's face, he was serious, and Ashley knew he wouldn't say a word. "I slept with Stella."

The look of disbelief on Adam's face is classic, if Ashley wasn't feeling so down about it, she would have laughed.

"Well there's my naughty dreams taken care of for the rest of my life."

"Come on Adam, this is serious."

Adam composes himself and drags his mind from the gutter. "Well that's great Ashley; I thought that's what you wanted?"

"It is. But she bolted, just upped and left in the middle of the night, no goodbye, no message no nothing." Ashley heart sinks just remembering her apartment this morning, it felt so cold, so empty, especially after what it had been host to the night before.

"Come on, Stella wouldn't do that, there must be an explanation."

"Like what?" Cos Ashley sure as hell couldn't think of one.

Adam racks his brains. "I dunno Ashley, but I think you should at least wait until you talk to her, before you jump to any conclusions."

"I been with straight women before, I know how they can be. They convince themselves they have feelings, but in reality it's all just a big experiment. I guess the results of Stella's experiment are that it's not for her. Which is fine y'know, I just wish she had the bottle to tell me."

Ashley sighed she's on the verge of tears now, she's convinced herself Stella has decided last night was a horrible mistake, which is strange as she seemed to be enjoying at the time.

Adam puts his arms round Ashley and pulls her into a bear hug. "I really think you need to talk to her. I don't think anything between you two is fake, or experimental, I've seen you guys together remember.

Ashley just nods still not really convinced. "We should head, need to hit the showers before shift, don't wanna be late."

They grab their stuff and head to work. Adam is really worried about Ashley; he can tell how hard she's fallen for Stella, if any of what she said turns out to be true, she's gunna be crushed. He can let that happen.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella is wiped, she's been at work since 5am, and has been none stop and on an hours sleep, not the best. It's 3pm and she's just arrived back at the lab. The Mayor's sister had been kidnapped in a blackmail ploy. They had found her alive and well and arrested the suspects. Now she just had the evidence to process. She cannot wait to see Eden, she just wants a hug, she knows when she gets it, it will energise her and help her make sure she gets through the rest of the shift. A smile plays on her lips at the thought.

She's on route to the lab she assumes Ashley will be in, silently praying she's not out in the field. She stopped in her tracks by Adam, popping his head out of the computer lab.

"Stella, can I have a word?"

Stella reluctantly steps into the lab. "Sure but make it quick Adam, I'm just on my way to somewhere really important."

Adam takes a deep breath he can't actually believe he's about to instigate this conversation, here goes nothing.

"So, I've been talking to Ashley this morning." This got Stella's attention, surely Eden hadn't been bragging about last night. Adam continued.

"She told me about last night." Wow Stella couldn't believe it, maybe she has been bragging. Stella can feel the anger rising, but decides to hear what Adam has to say before losing her temper completely. She prompts him to continue.

"And?"

"Look it's really none of my business. But if last night was some sort of awful experiment, to satisfy your curiosity, then you're out of order. You also need to tell Ashley before you hurt her anymore than you already have." Adam didn't take a breath whilst he was getting that out. He is acutely aware that he's telling off his boss.

"You're right Adam; it is none of your business." Stella was fuming he could think that, but then something stops her in her tracks, he's been talking to Eden, what if she thinks that too. She starts to panic.

"Why would you say that Adam?"

"Well the way you took off without a word this morning, no call or anything all day. Ashley is pretty bummed."

Of course she is. Stella didn't have a chance to think about how it looked, not that she has to explain herself to Adam, but she feels she should, he and Eden are obviously very close.

"I got called into work at 4am; I haven't had a chance to speak to her. I've gotta find her."

"Well she's out in the field with Danny right now. They shouldn't be too long."

"Thanks Adam. I want you to know, I would never hurt her on purpose."

"That's what I told her."

They exchange smiles, and Stella heads to the lab to process her evidence. Anxious.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has just got back to the lab with Danny; she still feels awful, still no word from Stella. She heads straight for the lab with the evidence with Danny close behind. She's not prepared for Stella being in there. She stops in her tracks. Stella looks up and see's Eden, she does not look happy. Danny obviously hasn't noticed the tension in the room.

"Hey Stella, not seen you all day."

Stella never breaks eye contact with Eden. "Yeah I got called onto the Mayor's case."

"Oh yeah I saw that on the news, how's it going?"

Stella doesn't have time for small talk with Danny. "Yeah we've pretty much nailed it. Eden can I see you in my office?"

Ashley is mentally preparing herself for the worst. "Yeah sure, Danny will you file everything away?"

"No problems kiddo, seeya tomorrow." Ashley had reached the end of her shift, something she was grateful for, at least she could go straight home and cry herself to sleep after Stella has dumped her.

Once they reach Stella's office, Stella quickly closes the door behind them, and quickly draws the blinds.

"I am so sorry."

Okay that wasn't the start Ashley was expecting. The confused look on Eden's face spurs Stella on.

"I got called in by Mac at 4am, massive high profile case, I didn't wanna wake you, you'd only been asleep about an hour." This makes Ashley smirk as she remembers last night's antics again.

"I couldn't find anything to leave a note with, so I just thought I'd call you this morning. But of course my phone died, cos I didn't charge it last night, and I just didn't have a chance to call you, I've been out in the field all day."

Ashley feels so stupid, but also relieved, probably in equal measure at the moment. Stella doesn't give Eden a chance to have any more doubts; she grabs her face in her hands.

"Last night was amazing, better than my wildest expectations, it certainly wasn't an experiment." Ashley flinched she knew by her choice of words that Adam had definitely been talking to Stella. She wasn't sure if she should be mad or not, Stella was obviously rattled by whatever he had said.

"I am so sorry if I ever made you feel like that." Stella can't stress enough that this is where she wants to be.

"It's my fault; I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I guess I'm just a little insecure. I wanted you so much; I don't usually get what I want."

Stella's heart broke, she couldn't blame her for not feeling secure, and she hadn't really done a lot to make Eden feel safe. She was sure as hell going to try to put that right now though.

"Listen to me. I know it's taken me a long time to realise this. But I want to be absolutely clear, that I know exactly what I want now. I want to be here with you, and I don't wanna freak you out, and I don't know if this is too soon. . ." Stella takes a deep breath. ". . . But I'm completely in love with you Eden Ashley."

Ashley was overwhelmed. "I'm glad I'm not the only one." Stella smiles ecstatic that Eden feels the same.

Ashley needs to verbalise it, she's just a little choked with emotion right now. "I love you too. I mean like in love with you, like head over heels."

Stella laughs, at Eden stumbling over her words, she was the cutest thing.

Eden laughs too, relief soaring though her body. Stella takes the opportunity to get a chaste kiss.

"Listen, I loved waking up in your arms this morning, I think you should experience that." They both laughed again, Ashley mostly at her own stupidity.

"Your shift is done now right?" Ashley nods. "Here take my keys and go to my place, I should only be another hour or so. I want you to be there when I get home."

Ashley was taken aback. "You sure? I know how private you are about your place."

"Not with you Honey. I told you I'm in this for the long haul. I want you around."

Ashley made a deal with herself; she was never going to jump to conclusions again when it comes to this wonderful woman. She takes the key from Stella. "Okay."

Stella turns playful, so with a glint in her eye she says, "Oh and make sure my dinner is on the table, when I get in."

Ashley bursts out laughing. "Oh it's like that is it?" She grabs Stella and starts to tickle her, Stella laughs uncontrollably.

"Yeah it's like that princess."

"Oh no don't you start with Adam's pet names for me!" Another bout of tickling for Stella.

"Okay, okay I promise." Ashley stops her assault. And heads to leave.

"Oh and I will make your dinner, but only because I love you, not because I'm whipped."

Stella smiles. "I love you too sweetie."

Ashley leaves with a huge smile on her face, which is mirrored by the one on Stella's face. Stella rushes back to the lab, she cannot wait to get home tonight.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**FIRST OF ALL THANKS FOR THE POSITIVE REVIEWS. THIS IS A SHORTER CHAPTER. NEXT ONE SHOULD BE A BIT LONGER. NOW THE RELATIONSHIP IS ESTABLISHED TIME TO GET READY FOR SOME UPS AND DOWNS, IVE GOT A LOT OF IDEAS, JUST NOT SURE WHERE TO GO NEXT! LOL!**

**AGAIN PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU CAN **


	8. Chapter 8

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. I RE-READ THE WHOLE STORY IN THE LAST WEEK FOR INSPIRATION, THERE ARE A LOT OF TYPO'S LOL. THANK YOU FOR BEING KIND ENOUGH NOT TO MENTION THEM – I WILL TRY AND BE MORE CAREFUL NOW, BUT CANT PROMISE THERE WILL BE NONE AT ALL.**

**RIGHT I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THIS CHAPTER – ITS A LITTLE RUSHED, BUT I WAS ANXIOUS TO GET ANOTHER CHAPTER OUT. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, 'COS I CAN REWRITE WITH A LITTLE MORE TIME.**

Stella is running, but he is catching her, Eden is trying her best to catch up to them, but it's as if the ground is moving beneath her, like it's a treadmill, or she is stuck on an escalator going in the wrong direction. She is desperate, sobbing, her heart is sinking.

He grabs her, and swings her round, so they are both facing Ashley now. The look of unremitting terror on Stella's face is mirrored, by the manic pleasure in his face, him, the man who had been in Ashley's thoughts for the last ten years, the man who she never believed she would have the misfortune of seeing ever again. And yet here he was, with his hands all over Stella, knife to her throat.

Ashley slumps to her knees, this is ten years all over again, she is helpless again, and she is going to lose the woman she loves again. All she can hear is his crazy laugh, it seems distant somehow, she can't take her eyes off him has he lifts the knife, and the viciously plunges it into Stella's chest.

Ashley jumps bolt upright, heavy breathing and covered in sweat. It takes her a minute to get her bearings, she takes in her surroundings and realises she is in her bedroom, she looks to her right; Stella is staring back at her with a worried look on her face. It was a dream. Thank God it was a dream.

Stella had been lying in bed, Eden's fidgeting had woken her a little, but she was still half asleep. That was until Eden jumped up. She scared the life out of Stella, she's definitely awake now, and the look of panic on Eden's face worries her immensely.

"Sweetie are you okay?" No response, it's almost as if she's in a daze. Eden turns and looks at Stella, she looks awful, dripping with sweat, she's obviously been having a nightmare of some description. When Eden sees Stella, her expression changes from panic to relief. Then she just starts to sob.

Stella has her arms around her in seconds, rocking her, whispering reassuring words into her ears. Stella doesn't know how long they are like this, but eventually the sobbing stops, and Eden's breathing evens out. She has fallen asleep. Relieved Stella decides to try and get some sleep herself, she will try and get to the bottom of it in the morning.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The next morning Ashley feels rather embarrassed. It's been years since she had a nightmare, and she'd never had one whilst in the presence of someone else. It was so real though, so vivid. She knows Stella is going to want to talk about it, and that the conversation is inevitable. They are still at Ashley's apartment; they have been pottering around getting ready for work, not really speaking. But now Ashley is heading for her kitchen, where she knows Stella is waiting.

Ashley strides into the room, as expected Stella is in there, sitting at the table looking over a newspaper. She gestures towards a cup of coffee.

"That's for you."

Ashley smiles, grabs the coffee then joins Stella at the table; she's not sure why she feels so nervous.

"Anything interesting in the news?"

To be honest Stella hadn't really been reading it, she was just passing time until Eden joined her. She is worried. She decides as usual, not to beat around the bush.

"Not really. You wanna talk about last night?" Stella's gaze is now firmly fixed on Eden, her face drops at the mention of last night, Stella can she her mentally fighting with herself, struggling to find the right words to say, Stella just waits patiently.

"Ten years ago after I was stabbed, I used to have nightmares; I haven't had one in years. But last night they came back with a vengeance."

"Any Idea's why they would just come back like that?"

Ashley knew, of course she knew, she wasn't sure if she should tell her, she knows Stella has this weird guilt complex when it comes to the two of them, but she guesses she owes it to her to be honest.

"When it happened, he stabbed Katy in front of me, I guess I don't really care about myself, but the people I love, being hurt, I can't handle that."

Stella didn't appreciate the sentiment that she doesn't care about herself, but she instantly knows where this was going she can feel a lump starting to form in her throat.

"I guess the way I've protected myself over the last ten years, has been to never really get that close to anyone, after a year or so the nightmares stopped. I've been too scared to get involved with anyone, because I've been so scared about losing someone like that again."

This thought hits Ashley, and the tears start filling her eyes, the thought of ever losing Stella, never mind in that capacity terrified her to her core. Stella hates seeing her like this, but lets her continue.

"But with you, I just couldn't help it. And now I guess the fear's back. The thought of him getting his hands on you." This is too much, Eden is crying freely now. Stella walks around the table and sits next to her, pulling her into a hug.

"Hey, that monster is in jail, he can't touch either of us. Plus you aint getting rid of me that easily Shorty."

Ashley smiles, she knows it's completely ludicrous; of course he is in jail. But she can't help this uneasy feeling she has in her heart. She can't quite put her finger on it, but she is sure something bad is happening. Little does she know how right she is.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella and Ashley put this morning's events behind them, and were careful to arrive at work separately, as to not raise any suspicion. They had become experts at this over the last month or so, although they were extremely happy, they wanted to enjoy it for themselves for now. That plus Ashley is worried, that although Stella is adamant that she doesn't care about people knowing about them, when the time actually comes for them to tell everyone, Stella will realise it's a lot harder than she thinks. So for now they are quite happy to be a secret, of course Adam knows, but Stella's learnt to trust him, she figures if Eden trusts him unconditionally then he must be worthy of her trust too.

They aren't working the same case today, so they haven't seen each other too much, Stella is in the main lab with Mac and Lindsay. Ashley has just arrived back at the CSI building; she's been working a case with Danny, who is currently with Flack interrogating their suspect. Ashley's come to lab to see if she can steal a few moments with Stella. She's heading towards her office when her cell phone starts to vibrate in her pocket.

She pulls the phone out, and instantly recognises the name on the caller ID, Barb Peterson. Ashley is overcome with a great feeling of sadness when she sees the name. But in an instant, that turns to worry, Barb Peterson, is her ex girlfriend, Katy's mum. They had bonded in grief after Katy's death, and had always kept in touch, but generally would only talk on Katy's birthday, or the anniversary of her death, neither of which was today. Ashley guessed there is only one way to find out. She accepts the call.

"Mrs Peterson, hi. How are you?"

"Eden, have you heard the news?"

Stella, Mac and Lindsay, are going over there evidence and trying to discuss exactly what happened on their case. They all immediately stop when Ashley walks into the room. Stella can tell there is something wrong instantly, Eden is in a daze, she doesn't acknowledge that any of the three of them are in the room; she just walks straight past them and to the big TV at the back of the room.

The three CSI's in the room, say nothing they just follow Ashley with their eyes, two of them bemused, one extremely worried. Ashley still in her own world, flicks on the TV, and changes it immediately to a news channel. And there it is, unfolding in front of her, from the breaking news banner running along the bottom of the screen to the reporter speaking on it, Mrs Peterson's words confirmed, Ashley worst nightmares confirmed.

Stella immediately recognised the name that had flashed up on screen, 'Michael Ellis'. To their credit Mac and Lindsay both recognised the name as well. The three of them still said nothing but began to stare intently at the TV screen; Michael Ellis was the Priest, who had attacked Ashley over ten years ago.

The four of them just stood and began to take in what was actually being said, Ashley was still in disbelief, she still hasn't actually registered that there is anyone else in the room with her, she needs to get straight in her head exactly what is happening. She starts to listen intently when the reporter in the studio starts to recap what's going on.

"If you've just joined us, we can confirm that convicted murderer Michael Ellis' conviction has been overturned, due to CSI Hernandez who worked on the case at the time, being found to guilty of evidence tampering, meaning all of cases he has worked on being reviewed, this is the most high profile of his cases, that has been overturned."

Ashley's heart sinks, everything Mrs Peterson said is true, she can't believe it. She feels physically sick, her dream from last night, now more of a premonition. Stella has been listening to the report, but all the while hasn't taken her eyes from Ashley. Taking in her emotion. All of this on top of her dream last night, Stella knew this was all going to be too much for her.

Ashley is still transfixed, the reporter, states that they can now go live to the courthouse. The image changes to courthouse steps, and reporters, lots of reporters, and then there he is, Ellis, standing and smiling, with a sleazy lawyer, who is wearing a matching gleaming smile. Ellis begins to speak.

"Thank you all for coming out here. The support I've had has been amazing. I have always maintained my innocence. Ten years ago, I was carrying out God's work, and I firmly believe that the decision to release me is the correct one, in God's eyes and under his Laws. And now that I'm a free man, I can continue in my quest to bring God's teachings to the rest of the country. My first stop will be some unfinished business in New York. Thank you so much for your time."

Ashley froze at his last statement, terrified, it was obvious what he meant, how did he even know where she was now? She had moved from Boston to Detroit and then to New York. He must have been following her, and her career. Ashley couldn't keep it in any longer the nausea that was racking her body. She would never make it to the bathroom, so the waste bin would have to do.

Stella's blood is boiling. She is over to Eden in a second, rubbing her back. Mac instantly has his brain in gear.

"Lindsay, look after Eden, Stella my office now."

Stella throws daggers at Mac, the last thing she wants to do right now is leave Eden. But she reluctantly follows, looking back at her as she follows Mac out of the room; she is currently in an embrace with Lindsay. Their eyes meet, Stella tries to smile reassuringly and apologetically at Eden, she just smiles back. Stella can tell she is terrified.

Stella impatiently follows Mac into his office. He sighs, rubbing his temples. Stella doesn't wait for him to speak.

"Right so what are we going to do, he made it apparent he's coming after her?" Stella is agitated, and defiant, she will kill this man before she lets him touch a hair on Eden's head.

"I don't know what we can do Stella."

"Are you serious, that man tried to kill her, he has just threatened, to kill her again on national TV."

"Stella, calm down, I'm as mad about this as anyone, but the man has been released, he hasn't done anything wrong. We can't arrest him. All we can do is be extra vigilant with Ashley, make sure she's never alone."

Stella can't believe what she's hearing, deep down she knows Mac is right, what can they do, until he steps out of line again? But she can't bear the thought of Eden living in fear.

"What for the rest of her life? She can't live like that. She is terrified of this man; she can't live her life always worried about if he's around the next corner."

"Stella, believe me, if he ends up in New York, I will be watching his every move and as soon as he steps out of line, with anything, I will fall on him like a ton of bricks. But until that happens my hands are tied."

"Well that's just great." Stella was furious, she can feel the tears prick her eyeballs, she needs to compose herself, she needs to be strong for Eden. With this thought, she storms out of Mac's office, in search of Eden, she needs to hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay, in reality of course, she is as scared as Eden is. If not more, she has just gotten Eden into her life, things are finally starting to go right for them, the thought of this monster coming into their lives and ruining everything, she wouldn't let that happen.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After composing herself and having a chat with Lindsay, Ashley had decided to go and wait for Stella in her office. She is sitting waiting patiently, a million thoughts running through her head, the most prevalent is the dream. It had to be a sign. She is not willing to put Stella at risk; she would never forgive herself, if any harm were to come to her.

Stella enters her office expecting that Eden will be waiting for her there; she is relieved when she sees that this is in fact the case. She envelopes her into a hug, and kisses her on the head. She releases her and sits on her desk facing Eden; she can see she is struggling.

"I won't let anything happen to you Shorty." Stella smiles, Eden can't help but reciprocate. But the smile only lasts a millisecond.

"Stella, I can't have you anywhere near me." Stella's face drops.

"What are talking about?"

"Stella if this guy gets any whiff that I'm with someone, that there's someone that I care about." Ashley has to take a breath to keep her composure. "I mean you remember, my dream right?"

"Eden nothing is going to happen to me."

"I know, because I can't take that risk. I think we should stay away from each other, until this gets sorted out."

"Eden we have no idea how long that's going to be, we don't even know if he's going to come after you. You want us to put our lives on hold?"

"Well what's the alternative? I am not putting you in danger, I love you too much. You won't change my mind Stella. I'm sorry."

Ashley storms out of the room, she can't believe Stella doesn't get where she's coming from. Stella sinks into her chair, she can't believe this is happening, she can't blame Eden for the way she's acting, she would be exactly the same, if roles were reversed.

She was determined this was going to get sorted out sooner rather than later, she can't bear to apart from her. Her heart is literally aching already.

**XXXXXXXX**

Ashley has had an awful night, as much as it kills her to be away from Stella, the thought that Ellis may target her if he knew they were together, that he might get his grubby hands on her, makes it all worthwhile. She has had next to no sleep. And now she was on a B & E, Mac obviously keeping it simple for her. God she hopes this will all be over soon.

She walks up to the house, and is greeted by Flack.

"Hey Ash. How you holding up?" His voice is full of concern, his face full of sincerity.

"I'm okay, didn't get much sleep last night. I see you got babysitting duty today."

"Hey, we all care about you. I for one am not going to let you out of my sight."

"I don't think we need to be wasting your expertise on a B & E though, just leave me with a uniform, surely you've got more important things to be dealing with."

"Nothing is more important than you my sweet." Ashley smirked, she obviously wasn't going to convince him, so she just heads inside. As expected, there doesn't seem to be much to it, the place has been turned over, the large window at the back has been smashed, best place to start she muses to herself. She heads over to the back window, aware that Flack has followed her in.

"Seriously Flack, I don't need another shadow, the fact that you're here is great, but I can't cope with you breathing down my neck."

"Okay, okay, I'm just going to be out front okay, I need to make a call, if you need me just holla okay, How long do you think this will take you?"

"I could do this with my eyes closed; I'll be as quick as I can."

"Cool." Flack exited out of the front door, and Ashley goes back to her broken window and starts dusting for prints.

About five minutes later, Ashley is still dusting for prints, however menial the task is it seems it's doing a good job of taking her mind off things. That is until she hears a banging noise; she looks out of the front window and sees Flack is still on his Cell. She shakes it off, her imagination playing tricks on her. But then she hears the exact same noise. Now she's intrigued, it appears to be coming from the back door, she slowly walks towards the door, there's the noise again.

She grabs the door handle; she still has her latex gloves on, which is good because she still hasn't dusted the handle for prints. She slowly turns the knob and pulls the door towards her.

She is both surprised and unmoved in equal measure. I mean it was inevitable really. There he was standing before her. He certainly hadn't wasted anytime. Ellis.

"Hello Eden." That manic smile from her dreams played on his lips, he hadn't changed, and the only thing she can think is the injustice of it all. How could this great country let a psychopath like this free?

"There's a cop right out front, so I wouldn't do anything stupid. If I as much as raise my voice." Ashley said it with a lot more confidence than she felt.

"You won't raise your voice, you won't do anything. In fact you'll do exactly as I saw, or that pretty curly haired thing you hang around with will be getting a personal introduction."

Unbelievable, how did he know, he'd only gotten out of prison yesterday. Oh well, it doesn't really matter how he knows, just the fact that he did. He had her.

"Follow me Detective Ashley." He waggles his finger at her, motioning her in his direction.

Resigned she follows him out of the back door. Her world was caving in. All she can think about is Stella, how she craves just one last kiss, one last look.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS PLEASE REVIEW ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AS ALWAYS THANKS FOR THE POSITIVE REVIEWS. WAS ABLE TO GET THIS CHAPTER UP A BIT QUICKER AS ITS ESSENTIALLY PART TWO OF THE LAST CHAPTER! HOPE YOU ENJOY.**

Flack had been on his phone for about 20 minutes, he thought it was slightly strange that Ashley hadn't come out of the house yet, especially after her earlier boast. He strolled back in through the front door.

"Yo, Ashley what's taking you so long?" As he enters the room that he'd left her in, he surveys the scene in front of him. Her kit is still open by the window. Fingerprint duster rested on the window sill. No sign of her.

The panic starts to rise in his chest. "Ashley, this isn't funny." He is secretly praying that this is one of Ashley's jokes; she has a questionable sense of humour at times. As he gets over to the window, he notices the back door is open, he runs over to it in a flash. It leads to a small court yard, the gate to which is wide open, Flack runs out into the alley. Looks left, then right, no sign of her. Just tyre tracks.

"Damn it." He's knows he's in trouble, but that is the last thing on his mind right now. He grabs his Cell phone and dials Mac.

"Detective Taylor"

"Mac, its Flack. Ashley is gone."

"What?"

"I stepped out to make a call, when I got back she'd gone, no signs of a struggle or anything, I don't know what's happened."

"Calm down Flack, I'll be right there."

Mac hung up. He can't believe Flack would be so irresponsible to leave her alone, but he swallows his anger for now. He needs to get out to the crime scene; he needs the whole team on this. He heads straight for Stella's office.

He strides in, which startles Stella.

"Mac hey." She immediately notices the expression on Mac's face, and starts to worry. "What is it?"

Mac is struggling to find the words to say, he knows Stella and Ashley have become close recently after a getting off on the wrong foot.

"It's Eden." A million thoughts run through Stella's mind, panic most definitely rising. She needs clarification as to what he actually means, but she can barely bring herself to speak, she's so scared what Mac might say.

"She's not. . ." Mac instantly knows what Stella is asking. He's puts her mind at rest straight away.

"She's missing, that's all we know so far. Kidnapped from a crime scene."

Stella's worry was quickly overtaken by anger. "What?" Mac was taken aback by the venom in Stella's voice. "I thought Flack was with her?"

"He was, he stepped out to make a phone call."

Stella can't believe what she's hearing. "Are you kidding me? I knew you shouldn't have sent her on a solo."

"Listen Stella, were all upset, but arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to help us find Eden. We need to pull together, and find her. We gotta get to that crime scene."

Stella knew Mac was right, but it's so hard for her to keep her emotions in check when it comes to Eden. Doesn't he realise this is the woman I love? Well she knew the answer to that question, of course he didn't, he doesn't understand why she feels so strongly, Stella knows she needs to keep a lid on it, for Eden's sake. She knows one thing for sure; she won't rest until she finds her.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It's been an emotional day for Stella; they went and processed the crime scene, nothing. No sign of a struggle, it looked as though Eden had just walked out. She couldn't look Flack in the eye, and he knew it. To be fair to him, he was devastated, he and Eden are really close, and he was beating himself up. But Stella just couldn't bring herself to forgive him. If anything happens to Eden, she doubts she ever will.

They have no leads from the crime scene. The tyre tracks are standard issue, and could have come from any vehicle. The upside is that they of course already know who their number one suspect is. Mac and Flack are currently trying to locate him, Stella is sitting in her office, she feels helpless, the woman she loves is out there somewhere, having god knows what done to her, and all she can do is sit here. She doesn't even know if Eden is still alive. Deep in heart she thinks she is. But she doesn't know if that's just hope.

The door to her office slowly opens and Adam steps through and sits opposite Stella, he's the only who can remotely begin to understand what she's going through.

"How you holding up?" Adam was drained, and emotional himself, he knew whatever he was feeling Stella must be a million times worse.

"I'm not really." Stella answered honestly, she feels likes she suffocating.

"Me either."

Stella couldn't hold it in any longer, she starts to sob. Adam moves around the desk and pulls Stella in a hug. A lone tear escapes Adam's eye as he's comforting Stella.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has been sat in a dark room for hours now. She is tied to a chair she's in the middle of the room, there are windows on both sides, but she can't see out of them, due to sheets or old curtains concealing the view, and the fact that it's now pitch black outside. She had followed Ellis to his car, where he had wasted no time in hitting her over the head; he obviously didn't want her to know where he was taking her.

She had come round a few hours ago, tied to the chair, she hasn't seen Ellis again yet, she's just been taking in her surroundings, trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this mess.

A door in front of her opened, a light switch was flicked, the brightness hurt her eyes, a lot, after all that time in the darkness. It takes her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light. When she does, Ellis is in front of her, smiling.

"Detective Ashley, nice of you join me. You must have needed that sleep."

"Oh yeah I was real tired, nothing to do with that hit on the head." Ashley can't help the sarcasm that spills from her lips. God she hates this man.

"I thought maybe you'd been up all night, seems you and you're lady friend spent the night apart, didn't have an argument did you? Nothing serious I hope."

Well he's obviously been watching me, the mention of Stella's name made her sick to her stomach. "You leave her out of this."

"Oh don't you worry, I'm not interested in her, her soul can be saved, from what I'm told she doesn't normally act the way she has been recently. That's all down to you seducing her. Turning perfectly normal women, abnormal, making them stray from God's path, it's unnatural. You need to be stopped."

Relief sweeps Ashley's body, it seems he won't go after Stella.

"But I do intend to teach her a lesson she'll never forget. The kind of lesson I tried to teach you all those years ago, seems that you just don't learn. I'm sure Detective Bonasera will be more receptive."

Ashley flinched at the mention of Stella's name, how does he know so much about them.

"Don't look so surprised Detective Ashley; I've kept tabs on you over the years. You where always the one that got away. You and Detective Bonasera work together right?"

Ashley just looks at him; she won't give him the satisfaction of actually answering his question.

"Well we're gunna pay her a visit. Give you a chance to say goodbye. Could be quite awkward, I understand she's been too embarrassed to actually tell anyone about your relationship. Can't say I blame her."

He smirks at Ashley as he says it, if it's possible she hates him even more, as much as she knows his statement isn't true it still strikes a chord with her, and makes her want to smash his face in. The good news from his latest statement is that it appears they will in fact be leaving, Ashley knows if he takes her anywhere near the crime lab or her colleagues she has a chance of getting out of this alive.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It's the middle of the night, but none of the team can actually bring themselves to leave the lab, they are all in the main lab, Mac, Stella, Danny, Lindsay, Hawkes, Adam and Flack. The latter still beating himself up. Stella still can't bring herself to forgive him for his stupidity.

At the moment nobody is really saying anything, mainly because they don't have a shred of evidence. Stella can't take it anymore.

"We shouldn't just be sitting here. We should be out there searching."

Mac tries to calm her down. "Searching where Stella, we have no clue as to where she might be?"

Stella is going out of her mind. She hates that no one but Adam knows what she is actually going through.

Just as Stella is about to launch into an argument that they should just search the whole of New York, the elevator pings. Everybody hears it; they all look amongst themselves, confused. Danny voices the confusion.

"It's 2.30 in the morning, who the hell is that?"

Intrigued they all head into the hallway. Stella can't believe what she sees. A man in his 50's greying hair, practically dragging Eden; she has her hands tied behind her backs. And blood all down her shirt, which seems to have come from a head wound. Her eyes are open, but she looks scared. Which is understandable, Ellis has a gun to her head.

Mac begins to speak.

"You must be Reverend Ellis. I'm Mac Taylor."

"I know who you are; I'm not interested in you." He turns his attention to Stella. "Detective Bonasera, we're here for you."

Stella hasn't broken eye contact with Eden until now. Her heart is breaking. She looks at Ellis; she doesn't really know what to say. Mac and the rest of the team just look confused. Ellis continues.

"We're here to show you the error of your ways, put an end to your dirty little secret. See I'm a great believer in negative reinforcement. I know you didn't mean to do what you did, that it's all down to this one here." He kicks Ashley at this point, Stella inadvertently moves forward. "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't come any closer." He waves the gun at Stella, which stops her in her tracks.

The rest of the team still look completely bemused as they take in the scene in front of them.

"You see she is one sick individual." He gestures towards Ashley again. "And I'm going to show you what happens to sick individuals like her, in the hope that you won't follow her down the same path."

Stella, immediately understands what he means, he's going to make an example of Eden to stop her being gay.

"You don't have to kill her, I'm not gay." Stella can't help the tears that fall.

"Aw that's sweet. Let me guess you're not gay, you just fell in love with the person right?" Danny and Lindsay look at each other in disbelief, Mac is struggling to understand why he is saying these things? Stella and Eden, surely not he would have noticed.

"Right." Stella confirms.

"Well if that's true, if I kill her, it will put an end to at least one sordid relationship, so its win win."

He kicks Eden again forcing her to her knees. He places the gun to the back of her head execution style.

"No please, don't." Stella sobs. Ellis smirks.

"Any last words Eden."

Ashley looks up at Stella, drinks her in, this could be last time she ever sees her. She doesn't know where her next words come from. She should tell Stella she loves her or something. But she doesn't.

"Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. . ." The smirk immediately disappears from Ellis' face; Ashley starts to cry as she continues to recite.

"Stop that."

". . . Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. . ."

Ellis is becoming more and more agitated. "I said stop that."

". . . On earth as it is in heaven . . ."

"How dare you use the lord's name in vain?" Ellis raises the gun and brings it down viciously against Ashley's temple, she goes sprawling. In an instant Flack raises his gun and shoots Ellis. Stella runs straight over to Eden and pulls her to her, she is out cold.

Mac just stands and takes in the scene in front of him.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley had been taken to hospital, and against her wishes was being kept in. Ellis was dead. As much as it wasn't in Ashley nature, she was glad. She was currently in her hospital bed Stella hadn't left her side. She is currently holding her hand, stroking her fingers. Ashley can't help but smile. Stella sees her.

"What are you smiling at; this must be one of the worst days ever?" Stella smirks as she says it.

"You're joking. Best day ever. I ended it alive."

"Good point." Stella's mind drifted back to the scene. One problem well and truly dealt with, but another out in the open. Ellis' words are bound to have raised suspicion with the team. She supposed they could lie there way out of it, but really Stella was ready for everyone to know.

"I think I need to talk to Mac." Ashley knows what she means, and she knows what a big deal it will be for Stella to tell Mac about the two of them.

"You don't have to you know, if you really don't want to. We could blame it on the incoherent rambles of a crazy guy."

"Ha, I guess we could. But I don't want too. I'm ready for people to know."

"You absolutely sure, cos it's not. . ." Stella knows what Eden is going to say, that its more difficult than she thinks, but Ellis's words got to her, Eden is not her dirty little secret, and she doesn't want anybody thinking that, especially not Eden herself. She cuts her off.

"Listen to me. I am going to tell Mac, and then we can tell the rest of the team. And any repercussions that come from that we can deal with together." Stella smiles, Ashley reciprocates her smile heart bursting with pride.

"Okay, you're the boss."

"Now get some sleep." Stella leans over and kisses Eden, then positions herself on the hospital bed next to her. Snuggles in, Eden wraps her arms around her. It's not long before they both fall into a peaceful slumber.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The next morning Eden has been patched up and released from the hospital, and she and Stella have headed straight to the lab. They are most definitely biting the bullet, they just want everything out in the open as soon as possible, and they know the team are bound to be speculating after yesterday's goings on.

They step off the elevator and are greeted by Adam.

"Hey guys. You're looking a lot better than you did yesterday princess." Ashley rolls her eyes at Adam, Stella just laughs. "But you know I don't think the boss man is expecting you back at work quite this quickly."

"Ha, I know, I've just come to annoy you."

"Seriously though Ash, what are you doing here, that's quite the bash you've taken to the head, you should be resting." Adam is genuinely concerned.

"Relax; I'm just her to take care of some business, they I'm heading home."

Stella steps in at this point. "We figure the cats pretty much out of the bag after yesterday, so we've decided to confirm it."

"Hmmmm so you're having a little coming out party?"

Ashley can't help but giggle, "Yeah well you can keep me entertained for a bit, while Stella goes and does the deed."

"Cool, let's go."

Stella and Ashley had already decided that Stella would talk to Mac alone. Eden gives Stella a reassuring smile. "Good luck." Before following Adam off to one of the side labs.

Stella takes a deep breath and heads to Mac's office. She has known Mac for years, but she has honestly never felt this nervous about speaking to him. She knocks on the door to his office; he looks up from his computer, smiles and waves her in.

"Stella hey. How's Eden?"

"She's fine, she with Adam out there somewhere." She gestures out into the lab as she's sitting down.

"Good."

"Mac we need to talk." Mac had kind of guessed this was coming, what Ellis had said was weird, it needed an explanation either way, Mac still wasn't sure what kind of explanation he was going to get.

"Okay."

"About what Ellis said." Stella looks up at Mac; he just nods for her to continue. "What he said was true. I am in love with Eden."

Mac would be lying if he said he wasn't shocked, but he guessed he probably could have figured it out, they have been really close the last couple of months. Stella braced herself for a bad reaction, as much as she loved Mac, she wasn't willing to give Eden up for anyone, so if he had a problem with this, she was ready to fight her corner.

"Wow Stella." Here it come Stella thinks. "I'm really happy for you. If she's the reason you've been so happy recently, then all I can say is congratulations. You've been walking on air the last few months, I had a sneaking suspicion it was probably down to a new relationship. Don't get me wrong though, I had no idea it was with Ashley! But I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

Stella was relieved. "Thank you."

"We will have to clear a few things with HR, what with you being second in command and all, but I wouldn't think it will cause any problems, Just means I will have to do all of her reviews."

Stella smiles trust Mac to be so professional and analytical about it. She walks round to his side of the desk and kisses him on the side of the forehead. "Thank you".

Mac smiles sincerely as Stella exits his office in search of Eden.

She finds her in the main lab with Adam, Danny and Lindsay.

"Hey, how did it go?" Ashley jumps straight in with the inquisition. She is very aware that Mac is like Stella's family, her only family for that, if he were to have issues, it would cause huge problems for them.

Stella smiles. "Really well. You?" She gestures at Danny and Lindsay.

"Not told them yet." Ashley can't help the grin that takes over her face. Stella instantly mirrors it.

Lindsay is intrigued. "What is going on with you two, does this have anything to do with what Ellis was going on about earlier?"

"Of course it does." Danny butts in. "Look at them, it's obvious."

"Well I think I need you to confirm it, for me to actually believe it!" Lindsay smiles as she says it.

Stella grabs hold of Eden. The giddy smiles still ever present, and apparently contagious, as Adam, Lindsay and Danny are all wearing matching grins.

Stella puts Lindsay out of her misery. "We are a couple. And extremely happy so far."

"I am so happy for you guys." Lindsay jumps on them both, and bear hugs them. Danny gives Stella and hug and moves to Ashley.

"Congrats man, quite the coup! Can tell your both really happy. Happy for you." They exchange hugs.

"Thanks Danny."

"Right I don't mean to be a spoilsport, but Lindsay, Adam we gotta get back to our case. Catch you guys later."

They all leave the room, Stella turns to Eden, she can't believe how easy it has all been. She is just so happy; the relief from the last view days, the huge weight from her shoulders now that everybody knows the fact that they can live their lives without fear now that Ellis is out of the picture. It really does feel like a new beginning. She sides her arms around Eden's shoulders.

"What are you smiling at?"

"You. I was just thinking how incredibly happy I am."

Ashley was slightly taken aback; she loves it when Stella talks to her like this. "Glad to be of service."

"I love you Miss Ashley."

"I love you too Bonasera."

Stella knows they probably shouldn't put she can't help herself, she steals a quick kiss.

"Right let's get you home."

Latest drama averted. Ashley was beginning to think New York was a very dramatic place to live. But when the rewards are as good as Stella Bonasera, the lows are most definitely worth the highs.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL YOUR REVIEWS. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR, I STILL HAVE A FAIR FEW IDEAS FOR MORE CHAPTERS, SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE.**


	10. Chapter 10

**SORRY THIS UPDATE HAS TAKEN SO LONG I HAVE BEEN REALLY BUSY. DECIDED TO DO A NICE CHAPTER, NOT AS MUCH DRAMA! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

It had been Ashley's first day back at work, since the Ellis episode. It had been relatively straight forward, thank God; she really couldn't cope with any more drama. The guys have decided that in order to celebrate Ashley's return and the revelation of her relationship with Stella, they are going for drinks tonight.

They have just arrived at Maguire's and the whole team is here, Mac is at the bar ordering drinks, he's the boss, so he has to get the first round, thems the rules! Ashley, Adam, Flack and Hawkes are currently racking up the pool table getting ready for a game of doubles, and Danny, Lindsay and Stella are seated on bar stools at a table not too far away from the pool table.

Lindsay has a huge child like grin on her face; she has been dying to get a few drinks in Stella, ever since she found out about her and Ashley. She keeps looking over at Stella, trying not to be too obvious at how excited she is, but drastically failing, Stella has evidently noticed.

"Lindsay, why do you keep giving me that goofy grin?" A grin which has now been replicated on Stella's face.

"Oh you know, I'm just excited we're all out together, it's not often Danny and I can get a sitter." Lindsay doesn't want to give herself away just yet; she at least wants to get a drink in Stella, before she starts trying to extract gossip.

Stella is not buying it, she knows exactly why Lindsay is acting like a school girl, but to be honest she's kinda excited herself, she hasn't been able to talk to anyone really since her and Eden got together, she was looking forward to having a girly chat, after a few drinks for Dutch courage obviously.

"Hmmm Okay." The look Stella gives Lindsay tells her she doesn't believe her one bit, but the fact that Stella is smiling, means Lindsay is going to get the gossip later.

Meanwhile over at the pool table. As Flack is arranging the balls, Adam has a sudden thought which he needs to voice immediately.

"I call Ashley." The other three's heads snap up straight away.

"Excuse me?" Ashley just looks at him waiting for an explanation.

"Well you kick my ass, at every other sport, plus you're British so you're bound to be good at pool. I want you on my team."

Adam's face is completely serious, Flack just shakes his head and smiles, Ashley replicates his smile. "I guess it's me and Adam versus Flack and Hawkes, that okay by you guys?"

Hawkes laughs "Oh it's on."

"Now that is fighting talk, you are going down losers." Flack sticks his tongue out at Ashley as he speaks.

"Now that is fighting talk, Adam you better not suck as bad at this as you do at basketball."

"Hey words hurt you know," Adam feigns hurt, trying to hide the smirk on his face. Ashley just returns the smirk.

Mac heads over with a tray of drinks. "Okay guys, four beers right?" He settles the tray down on the table.

"Thanks Mac you're a star." Flack grabs the beers and distributes them amongst the guys.

"So you guys shooting some pool."

Ashley smiles and takes a quick sip of her beer. "Yeah winner stays on, you up for a game after?"

"Sure thing, I'm sure I could teach you guys a thing or two."

This gets everyone's attention, this is most definitely fighting talk, and Flack's bravado means he's first to respond.

"Well, I'd go and get yourself a partner Mac, cos I don't think this is going to take very long." He looks over at Adam and Ashley, who are currently picking out cues. Ashley just shakes her head, she cannot wait to beat Flack and wipe the smile off of his face. "You'll be playing me and my man Hawkes here."

Mac just shakes his head laughing. "Well I'll be over here with the civilised people." He gestures towards Stella, Lindsay and Danny. "Come and get me when you're ready."

Flack turns back to the three pool players. "You know what, I'm so confident I'll even let you guys break."

Adam relishing the opportunity, and also worried that the break might be his only chance of actually getting a shot, quickly grabs the cue ball, Ashley however has other ideas, she places a hand on Adam's arm, his face immediately drops, something tells him he won't be getting the chance to break after all.

"We don't need any charity from you Flack." She smirks as she says it. "Besides I don't want you having any excuses when we beat you."

Flack is impressed. "Whatever you say girl. Flip for it." Ashley just nods in agreement. Let the games commence.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It's been a tense twenty minutes, Flack and Ashley are both equally determined not to lose, Hawkes isn't really bothered, and Adam is just excited that he hasn't lost already. Flack is at the table, it's a pressure shot, if he sinks his next ball, he's on the black, if he misses, Ashley is up next, in the same situation, one ball then the black. Ashley smiles, she swears she can see a bead of sweat forming on Flack's forehead, and the look of concentration on his face is priceless.

He pulls the cue back, and smashes the white ball, no going back now; he watches the ball up the table, as do the other three with great interest. Flacks head drops when he sees his final colour ball, ricochet around the pocket, and then bounce back out. Gutted.

"Tut, tut, tut. Unlucky Donald." Ashley can't help the teasing tone to her voice. Flack stands upright, he can't believe it, he's going to get beat, and by a girl at that. He can't let it happen. He decides his only option is psychological warfare.

"Laugh it up Ashley; you've still got two balls to pot."

"Easy." And she is right of course; potting her final two balls should be no problem, as long as she doesn't let the pressure get to her like Flack.

Flack decides it's time for drastic action. "So anyway, Ash, the reason we're all here tonight, you and Stella huh? That's, pretty hot."

Hawkes shakes his head smiling, Adam laughs, and Ashley just looks at him smirking. "Really, you're resorting to this to try and put me off?"

"Resorting to what?" Flack acts offended, but for some reason can't wipe the sly smirk from his face. "I thought we were all here to celebrate two of our favourite ladies falling in love, the least we can do is talk about it."

Ashley doesn't respond immediately, she leans over the table, and smashes her final colour ball into the pocket, stands upright and chalks her cue, then glances over to Flack. "I guess you're right, I mean like you say, that is why we're all here tonight."

Hawkes and Adam are suitably impressed, Adam is just excited that his team is about to win. Flack, has to give it to her she is good, Ashley moves round the table sizing up her next shot, as she continues to speak. "So what do you wanna talk about?"

Ashley leans over the table again, she is looking forward to winning, and Flack knows this is his last chance to put her off. "How is she in bed?"

This gets Ashley momentarily, but she shakes it off smiling, Adam cringes, he is sure that is gunna knock her off her game, Flack feels bad for playing dirty, but to be completely honest he kinda wants to know the answer too.

Ashley smashes the black to win the game for her and Adam. Adam celebrates like he's just won the super bowl. Ashley gets up smirking at Flack.

He extends his hand, Ashley sportingly shakes it. "Did you really thing that would put me off?" Flack just shrugs still smiling.

"Oh and just so you know, if I ever gave you details about my sex life with Stella, I probably wouldn't have a sex life with Stella anymore. Well more precisely I wouldn't be alive anymore."

Flack laughs "Just the confirmation that you have a sex life is enough to get me through those lonely nights."

"You're such a typical man."

**XXXXXXXXX**

Over at the table, Lindsay and Stella have just finished the bottle of wine they were sharing, Mac is at the Bar getting more drinks. Danny and the two, now slightly tipsy women, are chatting, when Lindsay decides it's time to get down to the nitty gritty.

"Okay Stella, girly chat time, I want details, about you and Ashley."

Danny smiles, "Oh great I love girly chat time." Stella and Lindsay laugh.

"You never know Danny you might learn something." Lindsay winks at him then turns to Stella expectantly; she nods at Stella urging her to speak.

Stella doesn't really know where to start. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Everything." This makes Stella laugh out loud.

"I don't think we have time to go through everything."

"Okay okay well give me the Cliffs Notes version. When did you first know you had feelings for her?"

"I guess from the first day I met her." Stella can't help the huge smile that appears on her face when she talks about Eden. Lindsay sees the smile, and can tell her friend is the happiest she's ever been, she doesn't know if it's the alcohol or the happiness of her friend but Lindsay can't help but replicate her smile, she actually feels a little emotional. But she is dying to know more.

"Then what happened?"

Stella smiles at her friend's enthusiasm, she decides to power through with the story of 'Eden and Stella so far.'

"Well, I struggled to get my head around it for a while; Eden showed me in no uncertain terms how she felt."

Lindsay interrupts. "What do you mean by that?"

"She kissed me."

"Oh that's so romantic." Danny smirks at his wife.

"Not really, I hit her." This makes Lindsay's face drop. The look of shock is classic. Stella takes this opportunity, while Lindsay is speechless to finish her story.

"Anyway, she avoided me like the plague for a few weeks, who can blame her. Then the whole episode with Oliver happened, and I realised that I love her, and nothing else matters, and luckily for me, she feels the same. And here we are."

Lindsay face actually looks like its gunna break from the huge smile.

"Aw Stella, I'm just so happy for you." Now they've got the mushy stuff out of the way, Lindsay wants to delve a little deeper, she's been curious ever since she found out. She tries to broach the subject carefully. Stella can see she's dying to ask something, and she has a good idea what, but it's fun to watch her friend struggle, internally fighting trying to word the question correctly.

"So, I don't know, cos I've never been with a woman . . . "This gets Danny's attention straight away, he looks up from his drink, he has been politely listening so far, now he's paying attention. Lindsay continues.

"But I guess I'm kinda curious." Lindsay is playing with a napkin the whole time, not looking at Stella; Stella is highly amused, and just continues to wait for the inevitable question.

"I mean, how did you know you could, I mean what I'm trying to say is, was it not weird the first time. . ." Lindsay decides to hell with it, she's just gunna ask. She drops the napkin and looks Stella in the eyes. "What's the sex like?"

Danny literally doesn't know where to look, he wants the ground to swallow him up, is this really what 'girl talk' involves. He can't quite believe the audacity of his wife, although Stella is still smiling, she's not actually gunna answer the question is she? Danny can feel his mouth go dry.

There it is, Stella had to laugh, Lindsay was trying so hard to word it sensitively and in the end she just blurted it out. Stella has the opportunity to have some fun here, but she decides against torturing her, instead she just answers truthfully.

"Oh my God, it's fantastic." Lindsay and Stella just fall into fits of giggles. Danny can't take it anymore he decides to go over and join the guys at the pool table.

The guys at the pool table are still laughing and joking about the last game of pool. Danny joins them and they immediately notice the weird expression on his face. Flack is the first to speak.

"Hey Danny, are you Mac's partner." Danny just looks at him like he's an alien. "Err, is everything okay Danny?"

He snaps out of it. "Oh yeah, I just got caught up in some 'girl talk' over there, real eye opener."

Ashley smiles, "Oh yeah?"

Now it's Danny's turn to smile. "Oh, yeah. All about you buddy."

Ashley quirks an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

Flack pipes in. "So, Danny, what was the topic of conversation?" He's knows whatever it was, it will be good for teasing Ashley with, a fact which Ashley is also aware of, she's praying Stella wasn't being to mushy.

Danny has snapped out of the trance the girl talk appeared to put him in, and is now firmly on the same wave length as Flack.

"They were talking about sex." He looks Ashley square in the face. "Apparently you're fantastic."

Ashley can feel her cheeks burning already, she looks over to the table where Stella and Lindsay are sitting, they look like a couple of school girls, deep in conversation, giggling every now and then.

Flack can't help himself, he loves having banter with Ashley and he knows she takes it in the good spirit its intended. "So let me get this straight, you would get in trouble for discussing your sex life with us, but Stella's allowed to chat as much as she likes with Lindsay?"

Ashley just smiles. She hands her cue to Danny, "Maybe I'll just go over there and make sure everything's okay."

The boys all laugh as Ashley makes her way over to the table. Stella sees her straight away and smiles. "Hey sweetie."

"Hey, how are you two?"

Lindsay who still has a permanent smile on her face decides to answer. "We're having a great time, having a good catch up."

"Yeah I heard." Stella looks at Eden to make sure she's okay; Danny has obviously told her what they have been talking about. Ashley notices the tinge of worry on Stella face, and winks at her to reassure her, that's she's not been remotely offended by the topic of conversation.

At this point Mac returns from the bar with drinks, he smiles at Ashley when he notices she's joined them. "Cocktails all round."

"We better get back over to the pool table Mac."

"Has your game finished?"

"Yep."

"So, am I playing Flack and Hawkes?"

"Nope."

"Good girl." Mac smiles and puts his arm around Ashley as they head back over to the pool table.

**XXXXXXXX**

The Pool playing finished around an hour ago, Flack had to call it quits when he and Hawkes got beat by everyone. The group are now all sitting around a table, Stella and Lindsay are particularly worse for wear, having fully caught up on all the gossip, they have been giggling like school girls the majority of the night, Danny and Eden took it upon themselves to split the pair of them up, so now Eden and Stella are on one side of the table and Danny and Lindsay at the other, with everybody else in between. The conversation is flowing nicely and everybody is having a really good time.

Stella leans into Eden and whispers in her ear.

"I'm having a really good time."

Ashley smiles and looks over at her, she looks adorable, most definitely tipsy. "I can tell. You Stella Bonasera are drunk."

Stella laughs and squeals at the same time, which causes everyone else at the table to look over. "I am not."

Ashley can't help but laugh out loud. Flack is intrigued. "What's going on ladies?"

Everybody looks over expectantly. Stella composes herself, trying her best to look as sober as possible. Failing miserably.

"Eden here thinks I'm drunk."

Mac laughs. "No." Everybody is amused except Lindsay, who doesn't know what everyone else is laughing at, probably because she is just as drunk.

"I'm happy to admit I am probably not the most sober. But I just am having the best time tonight with you all. It's been too long since we've done this."

She pulls Eden closer as she speaks, she's happy basically that everyone else is happy too.

Mac responds. "You're right. It's been too long; we need to make this sort of thing a regular occurrence."

"Amen to that." Adam raises his glass, and everybody else follows suit.

Just as everybody was about to return to their previous conversation, an unknown voice catches everyone's attention.

"Stella?" Everybody looks over in the direction of the voice. "Stella Bonasera?"

Stella looks up and immediately recognises the guy. Ben Evans. Mid thirties, cute, brown hair blue eyes, she had dated him for a couple of months, about 3 years ago. She immediately feels awkward, Ashley senses this from the way Stella tenses next to her, she guesses this guy is probably an old flame.

"It is you. Wow, how are you? Long time no see."

"Ben hey. Yeah it's been a while. I'm good, how are you?"

"Good, well all the better for seeing you." Ashley rolls her eyes and looks over to Adam, who just smiles and shakes his head. Stella cringes, Ben continues.

"You look great Stella."

"Thanks." Stella doesn't really know what to say, so she just smiles and nods her head, hoping he will take the hint and just walk away. He has other ideas.

"Maybe we could get together some time. Catch up on old times, be nice to see you again," Stella is massively aware that Eden is right behind her, and just wants this guy to go now.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ashley can tell Stella feels awkward, she wants to convey that she is not remotely bothered by this Ben guy, she has a hot girlfriend, who is bound to get hit on from time to time, this guy is only human after all. She grabs Stella's knee and gives it a quick squeeze under the table. Stella immediately feels better, and gets her confidence back. Ben looks quite disappointed, something which hasn't been lost on Adam and Flack who are both quite amused with the scene before them.

"Oh. I take it you're seeing someone then?"

Stella just beams at him. "Yep, and I couldn't be happier." Stella doesn't know what possesses her next action, either happiness or drink. "In fact she's right here." The look of confusion on Ben's face is priceless. Ashley nearly chokes on her drink. Stella just grabs her.

"This is Detective Eden Ashley, my girlfriend." Ashley quirks an eyebrow at Stella, before reaching over and shaking Ben's outstretched hand.

"Hi." Ashley is almost certain her cheeks are bright red. Ben is certainly looking quite embarrassed.

"Erm, nice to meet you." He just looks back and forth between the two women. "Well I better go. Nice to see you again Stella."

And with that he runs in the opposite direction. Flack, Adam and Danny are in fits of giggles, Mac just shakes his head smiling.

Stella turns back to the table, and grabs her drink, just as the straw is about to hit her lips, she sighs. "Well, I enjoyed that."

Ha now everybody is in fits of giggles. What a great night.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The guys called it a night not long after the 'Ben' incident, and Ashley and Stella have just stepped out of the elevator in Ashley's apartment building. Stella puts her arm around Ashley and leans into her as they make their way to her front door.

"I know I keep saying this, but I had a really great time tonight."

Ashley smiles, truth be told she had a great time too; she hasn't really been out with everyone at work at the same time before, usually just Adam and Flack, and sometimes Danny. It was great to have the whole gang together, and for them to be so accepting of her and Stella, she wasn't really used to it, she has come up against so much adversity in her life, and it feels so amazing.

"Yeah me too. I love it here. I love you. I feel so lucky right now." Ashley can't help but voice her feelings; she honestly couldn't be any happier right now. Stella's heart literally bursts when she hears Eden speak; she loves how Eden can reduce her to an excited school girl. She loves her so much it hurts. They stop walking when they reach the front door.

"Keep talking like that you're gunna get a little luckier." Ashley slips the key into the door, smirking at Stella's latest statement. Stella slips her arms around Eden from behind patiently waiting for her to open the door. As soon as she does, Stella immediately has her up against it on the other side, she looks deeply into Eden's profound blue eyes, god she loves her eyes, before moving her attention to her lips. Within seconds she is kissing her. Passionately.

They both fight for control; the kiss is filled with love, emotion, wanting, Ashley pushes forward moving herself away from the front door. Now Stella is against the wall in the hallway, she grabs Eden's jacket and pulls it down off her arms, and throws it on the floor, she then removes her own jacket and discards it in the same way, never breaking the kiss. Ashley's hands are immediately on Stella, grasping for access to her skin.

Stella decides she wants to be in control again. She quickly reverses their position so Eden is against the wall again, momentarily breaking their kiss, she looks at Eden, now she looks drunk, but on lust not alcohol, Stella loves the reaction Eden gives her, she has never felt more wanted or more sexy than does when she's with Eden. She quickly initiates the kiss again. This time its Stella's hands that go wandering, straight to Eden's shirt she undoes all the buttons, once the shirt is open her hands are on her stomach, she breaks the kiss again to take in Eden's current state of undress, black bra, toned stomach, her scar only enhances her beauty.

Stella is once again back to Eden's lips, Eden is intoxicated, just letting Stella do whatever she likes, she is in heaven. Stella's lips move from her own and start making their way down her face and her neck, small kisses, and nipped biting, and then sucking on her pulse point. God Ashley is melting, getting lost in Stella's passion.

There is not nearly enough skin on show for Stella, she needs to take this to the next level, she pulls Eden away from the wall, momentarily yanking her out of her haze, she looks at Stella questionably, Stella just smirks, the lust in Ashley's eyes mirrored in Stella's. She continues to pull Eden towards the bedroom. "Bed now."

Ashley just smiles at Stella's words. God this woman makes her so incredibly happy, and if her conversations with Lindsay are anything to go by apparently Stella feels exactly the same.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**ONCE AGAIN THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT REVIEWS SO FAR. KEEP THEM COMING.**


	11. Chapter 11

**HI GUYS SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG FOR THIS NEXT UPDATE. IVE SPLIT UP WITH MY PARTNER AND HAD TO MOVE HOUSE IN REAL LIFE, SO IT'S BEEN A BIT HECTIC! ANYWAY, THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT REVIEWS SO FAR! THIS IS GOING TO BE A THREE PART STORY ARC, SO THE NEXT 3 CHAPTERS WILL ALL BE LINKED. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Amelia Ashley is a strong woman, a woman that usually gets what she wants. And today she is in New York to do exactly that. She has been successful in everything she has done in life. With one exception, one blemish on her record, one failure, her eldest daughter Eden.

She enjoys nothing more than bringing her down a peg or too, and that is exactly her reason for being in town today. She steps into the elevator at the New York crime lab, and pushes the button for the correct floor. She is going to enjoy this.

As she steps into the elevator she notices a very attractive man, he must be pushing 40 but he is handsome, he smiles at the eye-catching older woman as she steps in next to him. Jack Walker has just moved back to New York and is hoping to pick up where he left off with a certain Stella Bonasera, he last saw her about 2 years ago, and he was looking forward to seeing her again.

The elevator pings and they both step off, once again smirking at each other, Amelia heads to the reception desk as she has no idea where she should be heading, Jack makes a beeline for Stella's office. Silently hoping that Stella is still as pre-occupied with work as ever, and that there is no boyfriend or husband in the picture.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ashley steps out of the trace lab with her head in a folder. She is so engrossed in the results she doesn't notice Stella in the hallway. Stella smirks, and falls into stride next to Eden. She laughs as Eden still doesn't notice she's there. She clears her throat.

Ashley looks up and instantly smiles when she sees Stella. But is puzzled when she sees the expression on Stella's face.

"What?" Ashley questions raising an eyebrow. Stella just smiles.

"Nothing sweetie you where just off in your own world there."

"Ha sorry. Very into my case. What are you up too?"

"Nothing, just heading to my office. I'll catch you later." She sweetly smiles at Eden, and then they both go off in their own direction.

Stella looks into her office before she enters; she is surprised to see someone sitting in there. More precisely the back of someone's head. She can't really decipher who it is. She guesses there is only one way to find out and strides into the office.

"Can I help you?" As the gentleman turns to face her, she instantly recognises him. Jack Walker, they had dated for a while in the past.

"Jack Walker. What are you doing here? I thought you moved out of state?"

He smiles appreciatively; at Stella she is still as beautiful as ever, age has only improved her.

"Stella Bonasera. It's been too long." He raises out of his seat and envelopes her in a hug. Although she feels slightly uncomfortable she reciprocates. He is an old friend after all. He continues.

"I've just moved back into the city. Who was I kidding thinking I could stay away? It's great to see you."

"You too." She means it, she was sad when he left, and it really is good to see him.

"I was thinking maybe we could hook up sometime." It takes him all his courage to complete his sentence. "Maybe carry on from where we left off?"

Stella's expression changes instantly, he notices it. "Unless I'm too late." He guesses from Stella's face that he probably is.

"That's a really nice offer. And if it had been any other time, I would have seriously considered it." He knows exactly where this is going, Stella smiles to try and soften the blow. "But I'm in a very serious relationship, and happier than I've ever been."

To say he is devastated is an understatement, but really he should have known, why wouldn't someone have snapped her up?

"Wow, well I'm glad. I would still really like to catch up, just as friends."

"I would really like that." Stella pulls him into a hug, and kisses him on the cheek. He appreciates the gesture.

"So who is the lucky guy then?" He is dying to know who has finally snared her. Stella is overwhelmed by an uncomfortable feeling, he doesn't seem to notice, just carries on with his trail of thought.

"It's not Mac is it, the sly dog?"

Stella smiles. "No." For some reason she doesn't want to reveal, that it's Eden she's dating, this feeling has never really come across her before, and she doesn't really know how to deal with it. But she feels like she would be betraying Eden if she didn't tell him. Awkward.

"It is someone who works here in the lab. But no one you know." She still can't bring herself to tell him, and she is starting to hate herself a little for it.

"Aw so it's some new guy, that's swept in from out of town. I might have known." He chuckles, he can tell from the way Stella is acting that she is holding something back. "What's his name so I can congratulate him?"

Stella looks at the floor, he's asked her outright now, and she will not lie about her relationship with Eden, but she is not looking forward to his reaction. Oh well, here goes, she gulps.

"Actually, it's not a he, it's a she." She looks up momentarily; the look of shock on Jack's face would be funny if it wasn't for the circumstances. "Her name is Eden Ashley."

He can't believe it, like literally cannot believe it, he knew Stella was holding something back, but he never thought in a million years it would be this. To say he is shocked would be a massive understatement. He needs to get away.

"I've gotta go." Abruptly he leaves, Stella just sighs, that was horrendous, but ultimately she is glad she had the courage to tell him, but the underlying issue in the pit of her stomach, is why it was such a problem to tell him in the first place.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Amelia Ashley is tapping her false nails against the receptionists' desk, she is rather impatiently waiting for her to finish her current phone call, she is trying to locate her daughter. Amelia is not impressed with the receptionist, and believe me the feeling is mutual.

The receptionist replaces the handset. "Detective Ashley has just left the trace lab, I will page her and request her to come to reception immediately."

Amelia exhales loudly. "Well how long is that going to take?"

The reception smile sweetly, this woman is really starting to piss her off. "It will take as long as it takes, why don't you take a seat ma'am."

Just as Amelia was about to protest, she notices something in the corner of her eye, unmistakable, she hasn't seen her daughter since she was 15, but there was no denying this was most definitely her.

Ashley is about to head out of the lab, to follow up a lead on her case with Danny she is stopped in her tracks when she hears;

"Well, well, well." She instantly looks to the direction of the sound and immediately recognises her mother, it's a massive shock to her system, it's been a long time since she has seen her mother, she is looking old, and Ashley can tell she has definitely had some work done.

"If it isn't my daughter, the apple of my eye." Danny instantly notices the malice in her voice, and how Ashley tenses; she goes rigid like a board. Ashley still can't quite believe her eyes; she hasn't had any contact with her mother since she disowned her over 15 years ago for being gay. She guesses she better find out what she is doing here, she expects it won't be anything good.

"Mother, to what do I owe this pleasure?" sarcasm is always the best policy when it comes to her.

Amelia, smiles, here it is the moment she has been waiting for. "It's your Grandmother." She says is dramatically on purpose knowing the effect it will have on her daughter.

Ashley instantly panics, a million thoughts run through her mind, surely she would be the first to find out if anything had happened to her grandmother, after all she hadn't spoken to her mother for the past 15 years either, disgusted that any child of hers could disown one of their own. This quells the panic in Ashley, and she motions for her mother to continue.

"I've decided that she is no longer mentally able, to deal with her assets." Ashley clenches her teeth, her Grandmother is in her 70's but she still has all of her faculties about her.

"I have gone to the courts, and they have granted me legal rights to take control of all of her assets." This is the part Amelia has been waiting for; she can't help but smirk as she finishes what she has to say. "That includes that beautiful apartment you live in. Keys." With this she holds out her hand in front of Ashley and motions for her to give her the guys. "Now please." There is that self-satisfied smug grin again.

But instead of the look of despair she is expecting to see on her daughters face, Ashley breaks into a huge grin, it takes all she has not to laugh out loud in her mother's face. Now it's Amelia's turn to look perplexed. Ashley decides to put her out of her misery.

"Wow you really haven't done your research have you?" Amelia's confusion grows. "You know I think Gran always suspected that you would try and pull something like this, so she sold the apartment to me, all legal and above board, and all of her faculties present."

Amelia starts to panic, this can't be true, her daughter could never afford to buy a place like that, before her brain can stop her, she verbalises her thoughts.

"That's not right; you can afford a place like that."

"It only cost me 100 bucks." The look on Amelia's face is priceless; she actually looks like her head is going to explode.

"But, but, the place is worth at least one million." She can barely speak her blood is boiling; her hatred for her daughter is certainly rising.

"Three actually, but I think you'll find that any consideration is good consideration, even if it's not reflective of the actual value."

"You haven't heard the last of this, you'll be hearing from my lawyer."

Ashley has no doubt that she probably will hear from her lawyer, but she knows there is nothing her mother can do. Thankfully.

Amelia storms past her pushing her on her way, she can barely breath, such is the rage inside her, she just catches the elevator as the doors are about to close, once she is safely inside, she exhales loudly, and then carries on to take several deep breaths. She hasn't noticed that Jack is also in the elevator, which is why she almost jumps out of her skin when he speaks.

"You look like I feel."

Startled, she immediately turns to the voice, and sees the attractive young man from earlier; he looks like he's seen a ghost. He continues.

"Didn't get the news you were looking for in there?" He gestures his head towards the elevator doors.

"You could say that." Amelia has composed herself after the fright he gave her, her heart was in her mouth.

"Me either." He looks her up and down, and decides to bite the bullet for the second time that day, hopefully with better results.

"Say I don't suppose you'd like to grab a drink?"

Amelia can think of nothing she'd rather do more. "Sure, a great big bucket load."

Jack smiles, and she immediately mirrors it, maybe this day wasn't going to be the worst after all.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They arrived at a wine bar close by, and were currently sitting in an awkward silence. Amelia decides to bite the bullet.

"So, what happened?" She looks over at Jack, she can see from his face, he isn't really comfortable talking about this; he sighs however, and decides to share.

"Erm, my ex works in the crime lab, I was going to see if she wanted to get back together, but she's seeing someone else."

Amelia didn't really understand why this was so bad, people move on, there is obviously more to it, and she isn't one to beat around the bush.

"That's it? That's not so bad, unless there's something you're not telling me?" She eyes him suspiciously. He is quite taken aback by this woman's abruptness.

He takes a large swig of his drink. "You're right."

"Come on then spill it."

"She isn't seeing another guy." He can barely bring himself to say his next words, so much so that they come out as a whisper. "She's in a relationship with another woman."

The penny drops immediately for Amelia. "Let me guess. Eden Ashley?"

Jack can't believe it. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"That girl causes pain and destruction wherever she goes." She looks up at Jack, who obviously wants her to explain further. She shakes her head, "She's my daughter. Well I used that term very loosely, she's my biological daughter."

Jack is taken aback, by the level of venom in her voice, towards her own flesh and blood, despite his devastation at Stella being with another woman, he could tell she was extremely happy.

"I take it you two don't get on then?" This seemed to be the understatement of the century, which is confirmed when Amelia laughs manically.

"You could say that." That's when it hits her; an evil plan starts to form. She wasn't able to bring her daughter down a notch or two with regards to her apartment, but another opportunity has presented itself to her with regards to her love life, and she would take immense pleasure in ruining that.

Jack can see a plan formulating in Amelia's brain, he dreads to think what it could be. It looks as though he's about to find out.

"You know my daughter is always doing this, with straight women." She of course has no foundation to base this opinion on, as she doesn't know Eden at all, but she isn't going to let silly things like facts get in the way of her pleasure.

"She loves the thrill of the chase, and the conversion, but she always loves them and leaves them."

Jack is dubious about what she is saying, but decides to hear her out.

"You know if you like this woman as much as you seem too, you'd be doing her a service, if you were to get her away from my daughter, before she leaves her heartbroken."

"I don't know." Stella did seem happy.

"Listen Jack, my daughter will ruin her, and leave her a shadow of her former self, the woman you fell in love with will be lost forever. Is that what you want?" She wants this to happen so badly she is practically shouting at him now.

Jack feels flustered and confused; this woman is applying a lot pressure. "Well no of course not."

"Well it's agreed then, we will split them up." Amelia is very pleased with herself.

Jack isn't entirely sure what he's gotten himself into, but if what she's saying is true, then he really owed it to Stella to save her, I mean after all this woman is her mother, she should know her best.

"And how on earth are we going to do that."

Amelia smirks, she has him right where she wants him. "You leave that to me. I'm not just a pretty face."

She smirks at him and takes a large drink of her wine. She is going to enjoy this.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS, I'M GRATEFUL FOR ANY REVIEWS.**


	12. Chapter 12

OKAY GUYS HERE IS PART 2 OF THE 3 PART STORY. HOPE YOU LIKE IT. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. KEEP THEM COMING.

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley and Danny have been working on their case all day, and it doesn't look like they are going to get finished any time soon. She is currently in the lab analysing the murder weapon, and doesn't notice Stella stood in the doorway.

Stella is actually ready for home, finishing on time for once, she is just stopping by the lab to say goodbye to Eden, but can't help herself, when she sees her like this so engrossed in her work, she can't help but stop and stare, she loves these secret seconds she gets. After a while she decides she better say goodbye, or she could be here for hours.

"Hey Shorty."

Ashley is startled, but so glad to see Stella, this case is really taking it out of her, and she welcomes a few minutes break from it. She is actually feeling a little emotional, without saying anything, she pulls Stella into hug, and buries her head into the crook of her neck. Stella knows the case must be affecting her, and without question provides her the comfort she needs.

Ashley pulls back, and smiles, she knows that hug will get her through until the end of shift. "Thank you."

"No problem, anytime. You okay?" Stella is genuinely concerned.

"I am now." It hasn't escaped Ashley that Stella is all dressed ready to leave. "You heading home?"

"Yeah." Sadly, she was going to her own apartment, neither of them was sure what time Eden would get finished. "Gimme a call when you get done, if it's not too late I'll head over to yours."

"Will do."

With this Ashley leans in for a kiss, which Stella again provides without question. Its soft and lingering, neither of them wants it to end. But unfortunately inevitably, it does.

"Right I better get back to it, quicker I get it done, quicker I can get home."

"Yeah, don't forget to call. Seeya soon. Love you."

"Love you too."

Stella reluctantly walks out of the lab, and straight to the elevator, she really does hate having to go home alone. Thankfully it's not something she has t do often. She makes her way out of the elevator, and works her way out of the building until eventually she is in the street. It's quite chilly in New York this evening; she pulls her jacket up around her. She notices it's so cold she can see her own breath. She's brought from her thoughts when she hears someone call her name.

"Stella."

She turns around to see Jack Walker making his way towards her.

"Stella hey. Did you just get off shift?" She has to admit, she didn't think she would ever see him again after his reaction earlier in the day.

"Hi Jack, yeah I just got done."

"Cool. Listen, do you wanna grab something to eat, maybe a couple of drinks. I want to apologise for my behaviour earlier, it's just you shocked me." He can see Stella isn't sure she should take him up on his offer. "Come on give me a chance to make it up to you, I would like us to be friends."

What harm can it do? "Sure why not."

"Excellent, I know this great little place a five minute walk from here."

He gestures to his right and for Stella to follow. Which she does happily, at least now she won't have to sit at home alone all night waiting for Eden's call.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They have been sitting enjoying each other's company for around an hour now, they have eaten and are having a few drinks. Stella has actually had a really good night, and in the back of her mind she's thinking she's still really close to work, so when Eden calls her she will be able to just go an meet her. Result. On that particular subject, Jack hasn't actually mentioned Eden, as yet, but Stella can tell he is building up to it. In fact it looks as though the conversation is about to take an awkward turn any second now.

"So tell me about this girl." Jack smiles through gritted teeth as he looks over at Stella.

She is apprehensive. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Stella tries to think of a gentle way to explain to him what Eden means to her, without being too emphatic; she doesn't want to hurt his feelings. In the end she decides to explain it at simply as she can.

"She's the one." She can't help the smile that creeps onto her face, then remembers present company. "No-one was more surprised than me, that it was a woman. But, I dunno it's hard to explain, it's just her, when I met her I knew. She's the one."

Jack found that his drink was much more interesting than it had been 5 minutes ago, but he was more mad than anything, this Eden woman, must really have Stella fooled, he has never seen her like this, she's going to be crushed when she finally kicks her to the curb. He can't let that happen.

"Stella, don't take this the wrong way. But are you sure you've thought this through?"

Stella was taken aback, but defiant. "Do you think I would just get into something like this lightly?"

Jack senses the tinge of anger in her voice. "Hey, I know you love her, there's no doubt in my mind about that. But what about the future?"

"My future is with her."

"What about marriage and kids? I thought you wanted that stuff. And you are so special Stella; you don't to deserve to have to give that up."

Now he had it a sore spot with Stella. He is of course right, she had always expected marriage and kids in her future, but she and Eden had never really talked about it. She could feel the emotion hitting her brain, she had no answer for him, now her glass of wine had become the most interesting thing ever, that was until she decided she needed to drink it, what a mess of an evening this was turning into.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has finally finished for the day, and is just in the main lab packing the last of the evidence away, it's quite late, but still early enough that she knows when she calls Stella; she will definitely come to hers. Which is good, because it was a very draining case, and Ashley is in dire need of a hug.

She is startled when she hears a voice coming from the hallway.

"We meet again." It's a voice she instantly recognises as her mothers. Great, this is literally the last thing she needs after a day like today. Ashley is actually lost for works; she tiredly turns around to come face to face with her mother.

"Had a meeting with your lawyer?" This hit Amelia, the truth is she had, had a meeting with her lawyer, and there is nothing she can do about the apartment, which has only served to make her even more determined, to sabotage Eden's relationship. She decides to ignore Eden's statement completely, and get straight into what she's come here to do.

"What are you doing Eden?"

Ashley is far too tired for her mother's games. "What do you want?"

Again Amelia just ignores her. "That's a nice girlfriend you've got there. Very desirable."

"It's not like you to take an interest in my girlfriends." Ashley raises her eyebrows at her mother; she certainly has her attention now.

"She's pretty; she could have any man she wants." Amelia takes pleasure in the confused look on her daughters face; she obviously has no idea where she's going with this.

"What's your point?" Ashley doesn't like where this is going.

"Well I know it's not like me to care about you, but I don't like the idea of someone with my family name being made a fool of." She smirks.

Okay now Ashley is really confused. "Listen as much as I'd love to stand here and talk cryptic with you, I've had a really long day. So can you get to the point?" She is really tired now, and longing to get home and into Stella's arms.

"Okay. She's cheating on you."

Ashley shakes her head, exasperated, is there really no depths to which her mother won't sink, she has definitely heard enough now, and starts gather her things into her bag. Amelia knows she has to move fast.

"I can tell you don't believe me." Ashley just looks at her like she's a complete moron, which to be fair she is in Ashley's eyes. "But let me ask you this, Do you know where she is right now?"

"Of course I do. She's at home."

"Really, now that is interesting, because I have it on good authority that's she's on a date with her ex boyfriend Jack Walker."

"Look I don't know what sort of sick enjoyment you're getting from this, but I trust my girlfriend completely, she is certainly not on a date." Ashley throws on her jacket and throws the last few things into her bag.

Amelia knows that Eden enjoys nothing more than proving her wrong, so she won't be able to resist what she's about to say. "Call her then."

Simple enough way to put an end to this, and make her mother look a complete fool for the second time today, why not. "You know what, I will call her. I was going to anyway so why not." Ashley gives her mum the best smug smile she can muster, as she pulls out her Cell phone.

She dials Stella's number and then waits, it rings a couple of times, before Stella answers, Ashley is immediately surprised by the background noise, it sounds like she's in a bar, she's even more surprised when Stella starts to speak, slurred, she has definitely been drinking.

"Hey baby." Stella is giddily happy that Eden is calling, it's not as late as she was expecting, from across the table, Jack is watching intently, it seems everything is going to plan.

Ashley cannot believe her ears; she looks over at her mother, who is looking very pleased with herself. This tips Ashley over the edge. She is perhaps more abrupt than she should be.

"Where are you?" The venom in Eden's tone catches Stella by surprise. Jack immediately notices Stella's face drop, he can't quite believe the plan seems to be working. Stella stumbles over her next words.

"I erm, well I bumped into an old friend, Jack Walker."

Ashley is being more and more wound up by the second, the smile on her mother's face, is doing nothing to improve her mood, she explodes.

"Are you kidding me?" She is actually shouting now, Stella doesn't really know how to react, she has never known Eden to act like this. The lack of response from Stella spurs Ashley on; she can't seem to stop herself.

"I honestly can't believe this Stella. By old friend, do you mean old boyfriend?"

"Eden honey what's wrong?" Stella is desperately trying to get her head round exactly what's going on, Jack is simply watching her in awe, Amelia is a genius.

"What's wrong, you're on a date with an ex boyfriend, and you're asking me what's wrong? You know what I can't even talk to you right now. I'll seeya tomorrow." Ashley slammed her thumb on the disconnect button.

Stella is confused to say the least, and the alcohol she's consumed isn't helping, Jack notices that she looks like she's about to burst into to tears, he immediately scoots round the table, and pulls Stella into a hug, she resists at first, but she is craving the comfort, so she gives in and buries her head into his chest as the tears start to fall.

Ashley is furious, her mother is chuckling at her, and it's taking everything she has not to smash her face in. She has to get away from her, now. She grabs all of her stuff, and storms straight out of the lab, stopping only to spit out at her.

"You happy now?"

She shoulder barges her as she passes. Amelia is extremely pleased with herself, she can't help the massive grin on her face, once Eden has passed, and under her breath so she's sure she can't hear.

"Extremely."

**XXXXXXXXX **

After that ever so abrupt phone call Stella wasn't really in the mood to drink anymore, so Jack is now walking her home. She hasn't really said much, she was still trying to fathom what exactly had happened, and why Eden was so upset.

Jack on the other hand, knew that Amelia had kept her end of the bargain, now he had to try and cement his part of the plan, and he knows he has to act fast, while Stella is still upset. They arrive at Stella's apartment and walk up the steps to the front door; he knows it's now or never.

"She's not worth your tears you know." He says it so quietly Stella barely hears. If he'd said this an hour she would have fought him, and told him how wrong he is, but now, with the way Eden acted, she never thought she could be like that, and now she doesn't know what to think. Jack takes her lack of response as a positive.

"All those things we were talking about earlier, marriage, kids, a normal life, I can give you all of those things." He grabs Stella's arm, and forces her to look him in the eyes. She is confused, she knows that, those things aren't what she wants, not from him anyway, but she is just so confused with tonight's goings on, and the amount of alcohol she has consumed certainly isn't helping. Jack again takes her lack of response as a good sign.

"Let me come in, we can discuss it." Stella's mind is still misty, her brain doesn't she to be able to function, and before she knows it, he is leaning in, and his lips are almost about to touch hers.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is doing what she does best when she's upset; she's at her favourite bar drinking. Chatting to her favourite barmaid Caitlin. She has just downed another scotch, and is about to ask for another when, she realises Caitlin has in fact just finished clearing the tables and stacking the chairs. Ashley swivels round on her bar stool.

"What time is it?"

Caitlin smiles, she loves drunk Ashley. "Well stud, its 11.30."

Ashley smiles. "You're kidding me. Time flies hey."

"What when you're having fun?" Caitlin is obviously being sarcastic, she can tell Ashley is pretty upset, but doesn't want to push her too much. "You wanna talk about it?"

Ashley really doesn't. Mainly because in her drunken stupor, she realised that she let her Mother wind her up far too easily. And she has this nagging pain in the pit of her stomach and the back of her mind 'why on earth didn't she let Stella explain herself.'

"Not Really." She knows Caitlin is smart, and if she explains the situation, Caitlin will just confirm her realisation, and she's not ready for that, not yet.

"But let me guess, Women trouble." Caitlin is now sitting on the bar stool next to Ashley, a smidgen too close. Ashley just smiles uncomfortably and plays with her empty glass.

Caitlin gently touches her on the arm, causing Ashley to look up into her eyes. "If she's been stupid enough to hurt you, then she's so not worth it."

Ashley immediately breaks eye contact, and smiles, shaking her head at Caitlin's words, how wrong she is, the only person who's been doing the hurting is her. Caitlin misreads Ashley's actions, and gently moves her hand from Ashley's arm to her face, making her look her in the eyes again.

Ashley knows exactly what is about to happen, and as Caitlin inches towards her, a million thoughts run through her head, like how Stella deserves better than her, and how she'll never really feel secure with Stella, because she knows she can't give her everything she needs, and everything she deserves. And how much easier a life with Caitlin, or anybody like her would be. Before she knows it, Caitlin's lips are on hers, and to her surprise, she doesn't pull away.

**XXXXXXXXX**

ONCE AGAIN THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE MORE ;)


	13. Chapter 13

OKAY GUYS HERE IS THE LAST BIT OF THE 3 PART MINI STORY WITHIN A STORY! HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. THANKS FOR THE GREAT REVIEWS.

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

About three milliseconds after Caitlin's lips hit hers Ashley's brain woke up, she bolted straight up off the bar stool and backed away from Caitlin, who looks extremely taken aback. Ashley is angry at herself more than anything, but the haze she felt a few mere moments earlier was gone, that drunken feeling immediately gone, instantly sober.

"What are you doing?" It was the best Ashley could muster.

Caitlin is now looking hugely embarrassed. "I thought it's what you wanted."

"No it isn't." Ashley was very clear now in her own mind, this is most definitely not what she wants. "I've got to go."

She doesn't wait for a response from Caitlin; she just exits the bar at high speed, with one thought on her mind, get to Stella. As she hits the brisk New York air, she pulls her cell phone out for the second time that evening and dials the number that has become so familiar.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Jack's lips hit hers and her immediate reaction is to move her head back, so their lips are no longer touching, Jack appears to be persistent, so he leans in again, causing Stella not only to move her head backwards, but to actually reposition her whole body away from him.

"Jack don't."

He sighs. "You're really gunna give up a chance of happiness." He can't actually believe it.

"The only real chance I have at happiness is with her, and I am not going to ruin that." Stella is absolutely clear about this. It seems Eden was right, she thought she was going out with an old friend, but apparently Jack was there as an old boyfriend.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Jack is desperate now. "You know she'll only end up hurting you."

"Why do you keep saying things like that?" As Stella says the words out loud, it seems to become clear in her head, she thought his only problem was that she was with a woman, but that's clearly not the case, it's almost a vendetta he's got against Eden, he doesn't even know her.

His lack of response spurs her on. "No come on Jack, you seem to have so much to say about her, you don't even know her. Where do you get off bad mouthing her?" The rage is building inside of Stella there is definitely more to this, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't know her, but I know someone who does, the person who knows her the best in the world, and she knows that she is scum." He spits it out at Stella.

Now Stella is really confused, who on earth does he think he's been talking too? The only person who knows Eden inside out, apart from Stella is her grandmother, and she doesn't have a bad word to say about her. She needs him to name his source.

"Who have you been talking to?"

Jack knows the game is up, so he may as well come clean with her. "Her mother okay."

Stella cannot believe it; she shakes her head in disbelief, and starts to laugh. This is not the reaction Jack had been expecting.

"What's so funny?"

"Her mother?" Stella still can't believe it. "Her mother who disowned her when she was 15 and hasn't spoken to her since, that mother. That's the person you think knows her best?"

Jack is gobsmacked. "She told me she was bad news, honestly Stella I thought I was doing this for your own good."

"Doing what?" She knew it there is some sort of agenda going on here. She gave Jack her best 'you better tell me what the hell is going on' stare, and he knew it, definitely time to come clean.

"She said she would only end up hurting you so, that's the only reason I agreed to any of this." He needed to get that out there first of all, Stella nods at him to continue. "I don't know exactly what the plan was, just that I was to meet you after work and take you out, she was obviously going to do something to Eden, I dunno, maybe wind her up so much about me that she'd snap at you, it sounds really lame now, but I couldn't believe it when you got that phone call, I couldn't believe it was working."

Stella is enraged. Eden had told her about her mother, and how she hadn't seen her since she was 15, but how she was always there in the background out of sight trying to make Eden's life a misery; it appears she has decided to come to the forefront.

"And I almost fell for it." Now Stella feels foolish. She can't believe she didn't work out earlier that it was all an elaborate plan. Jack is devastated that he's hurt Stella. She just needs to find Eden.

"I think you better go." Jack resigned, just nods his head and turns and leaves when he reaches the bottom of the steps, he turns around as he needs to say one last thing to her.

"I really am sorry Stella." She can tell he is, and just nods, she can't bring herself to speak to him. He continues on his way.

Stella becomes distracted by her purse vibrating, she pulls her Cell phone out, and smiles at the caller ID. She answers immediately, but cautiously as she not sure what sort of mood Eden is going to be in.

"Hello."

Eden is so happy that she's answered; she is feeling so emotional that she can barely speak. But manages to get out, "I am so sorry." Before she bursts into tears.

Stella heart explodes. "Where are you?" All she wants to do is give her hug and tell her everything is going to be okay.

"I'm on my way to yours. Are you in?" Again each word spoken between soft sobs.

"Yes, I'm in, get here quickly." With this the phone call ends, and Stella opens the front door to her apartment, what a long day, and it doesn't appear to be anywhere near over yet.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley arrives at Stella's apartment and tentatively knocked on the door, she is feeling pretty sheepish to be fair. She waits anxiously for the door to open. When it does she comes face to face with a beaming Stella, who immediately pulls her into a colossal hug. It is absolutely what they both needed, and Ashley feels instantly better for it.

They compose themselves and head into Stella's living room. They sit on the same couch, facing each other holding hands, Ashley is still pretty upset, today has really taken its toll. She just looks down at their entwined fingers, they both know they need to talk, more accurately Ashley knows she needs to apologise.

Stella is the first to speak. "Why didn't you tell me your Mother was in town?"

Okay, that was the last thing she was expecting Stella to come out with. "I didn't have a chance, how do you even know she's here?" She is truly puzzled.

"You've still not worked it out then?" Ashley has no idea what Stella is going on about, and Stella guesses as much from the blank stare on Eden's face.

"Tonight was apparently an elaborate plan on the part of your mother, to try and split us up." The realisation suddenly dawns on Ashley, and she can't believe it. She didn't think her mother could sink any lower. Stella continues.

"Jack told me everything." Ashley flinches at the mention of his name; this doesn't go unnoticed by Stella, who moves immediately to reassure her. She takes her face in her hands.

"Hey listen to me, I don't know what your mom said to you, but trust me there is nothing going on with Jack he's just a friend, yes we used to date but that is all in the past."

Ashley flinches again. She needs to get this off of her chest. "I am so sorry, I shouldn't have let her get to me like that, I should've known what she's like." She gulps, she knows she doesn't really have to mention what she's about to, be she wants to be completely honest.

"I went for a drink at coyotes." This has Stella intrigued; she knows there must be more to come, so she just gestures at Eden to continue. "So anyway to cut a long story short, Caitlin kissed me."

"What?" Stella was furious initially until she then remembered that Jack had done the same with her, but she needed to know the full story. "Did you kiss her back?"

Ashley head snaps up immediately. "No of course not. I just wanted to be completely honest with you. It wouldn't surprise me if it was all part of the plan.

Stella feels bad. "Jack kissed me, well tried to." She exhales. "I'm sorry; I should have told you where I was going."

"No don't be ridiculous. I'm not your keeper."

The tension that has been in the room seems to dissipate; now all the secrets are out, Ashley has relaxed, and it seems everything is going to be okay.

Stella wants to talk about the worries Jack brought up, but she doesn't really want to push Eden, especially when she looks so exhausted.

"I want us to talk about the future." She gets nervous as she says it, and looks down at her hands. "But we don't have to do it right now, just at some point."

She looks up her own eyes met by bright blue questioning orbs.

"What about the future?" Ashley is now worried again.

"Just what you think it holds for us." Stella looks away nervously. Ashley somewhat relaxes again, it at least seems that Stella see's a future for them.

"I think it can hold whatever we want it to." Ashley doesn't really know where Stella is coming from with this. "Why, is there something in particular you're worried about?"

Stella decides honesty is the best policy. "Marriage and kids." This takes Ashley by surprise.

"Is that what you want?" Ashley is worried that Stella is about to reveal that she actually does want a more normal existence with 2.4 kids, and the strapping husband, she is mentally preparing herself for the worst.

"Well yeah, eventually. I've always wanted kids."

"Oh." Ashley doesn't really know what to think, and as she struggling with the words, Stella wants to make something very clear.

"But if that's not what you want, then we don't have to."

Ashley's heart feels as though it's going to burst through her chest. "You want those things with me?"

Stella begins to wonder if Eden is being intentionally dense. "Of course with you. Who else? But like I say. . ."

Before Stella has a chance to finish, Ashley holds her hand up to Stella's lips, signalling for her to be quiet for a second, she can feel herself becoming emotional before she even says her next words.

"I would be truly honoured, to be your wife, and to raise children with you, and I would love nothing more if that's something that happens in our future. Just the thought that you are even considering those things with me . . ." She can no longer hold the tears in, today has just been so draining. Stella who herself is also overcome with emotion, just grabs her into a hug, and comforts her until the sobs stop. The y both smile at each like idiots before heading to bed. Both extremely glad that this day is now over.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The next day, Stella has left Eden in bed; she worked more hours than usual yesterday, so she's starting work late today. She must have needed the sleep after her emotional exertion yesterday, because she was still fast asleep when Stella was leaving, and that's really not like her.

As she waltzes out of the elevator into the lab she notices someone, not she has never met Eden's mother, but this woman was Eden's double, even with the obvious work she has had done and the peroxide blonde hair. Stella wants to have a nice chat with her, so she strides right over, Amelia, who has turned up at the lab today to gloat at Eden, notices a woman heading straight for her, she doesn't really have time to comprehend who it is before the woman is face to face with her.

"Amelia Ashley I presume?" Stella doesn't smile, she leaves Amelia in no uncertain terms that she is not remotely happy to see her, and also in no doubt who the woman before her is.

"Ah you must be the delightful Stella."

Stella just smirks. Amelia continues. "Well you look closer to my age than my daughters." She couldn't resist the sly dig.

Stella raises her eyebrows, she didn't really think Amelia could be as bad as Eden was making out, but apparently she is a complete bitch. She doesn't let the age remark get to her, things like that haven't offended her since the whole Doctor Lovely incedent, and besides she was only five years older. She shrugs it off.

"I'd like to talk to you, in my office." Stella doesn't wait for a response she just heads towards her office. Amelia is intrigued enough to follow, she hasn't heard from Jack since yesterday, she assumed because he'd been having so much fun with Stella, well at least that what she hoped. However it seems she is about to find out.

When they enter the office, Stella puts her bag and her jacket on the couch, and immediately takes a seat at her desk, and gestures for Amelia to sit, which rather obediently she does. They sit for a few seconds, staring each other out; Stella can feel the rage building.

"What are you doing here? Why are you hanging around?" Stella gets straight to the point; she has no desire to be in the presence of this woman for any longer than necessary.

"Don't you and my daughter talk at all?"

Stella can't believe the front of this woman, how dare she try to undermine her relationship. "Well I know you where here originally to try and steal Eden's apartment, and then you hung around to try and break us up, but you've failed at both of those things." Amelia's face drops at this point, something which doesn't go unnoticed by Stella. "So what I can't figure out is what you're still doing here."

Amelia goes on the attack. "What are you doing with my daughter? I mean really, I don't get it."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand love. Especially when it comes to Eden." If Stella was expecting this to hurt Amelia she was sadly mistaken.

"I know exactly how this relationship is going to go."

"Oh because you know your daughter so well." Stella practically spits this out.

"I know her a hell of a lot better than you think, I know the things in her life that have shaped her as a person. She will never be secure with you." Amelia is on a roll now.

"The most important woman in her life, namely me, abandoned her, the next time she allows someone in, she gets murdered, leaving her alone again. She is not used to women sticking around; she's programmed to think that one way or another they always leave, and you know what it's not a bad programme to have because it's probably correct. Nothing lasts forever."

Stella shudders at Amelia's confession, she seems almost proud after her little outburst. "I'm aware of how naive this sounds, but I do really believe that we will last."

Amelia laughs. God this woman is pathetic. "You know a woman of your advanced years should know better." Stella frowns at the second little dig. Amelia just continues. "Listen, I don't care how much you think you love, or even if you actually do, but you will never make my daughter feel secure enough for the two of you to have anywhere near a remotely normal relationship."

"Well with all due respect, you're wrong." Just as it looks as though Amelia is going to protest, Stella cuts her off. "I'm not interested. I want you to go; you've had your fun, so stay the hell away from us."

"Ha believe me I have no desire to stick around. I like to have a good 16 years between visits."

"Yeah well, I don't wanna see you in 16 years time either." Stella was adamant and determined; Amelia could see she wasn't going to get a rise out of her, so she decides to leave.

"Give my regards to my daughter; tell her it's been fun." With that she exits Stella's office, and Stella hopes that's the last time she ever sees her. But something she said struck a chord with Stella, what she said about Eden not feeling secure; she wondered how much of that was true, after all she was right when she said every important woman In Eden's life had disappeared one way or another. Stella was determined to prove to Eden that she was going to be the one to stick around, to reaffirm her commitment; this certainly got the cogs moving in Stella's brain.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley wanders into the lab, feeling a lot happier, the mega sleep she's just had certainly helped, she is heading for Stella's office, but bumps into Adam on the way, he greets her in his own unique way.

"What up?" Adam is happy to see Ashley he didn't really get a chance to see her yesterday due to the massive case she was working on.

"Hey Adam." She slaps his hand, and the do there usual handshake.

"Hey, how's the big case going?"

"Finished thank God. Yesterday was actually the worst day of my life." Ashley gets sad just thinking about it.

"Wow that bad? You wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now, but I will defo fill you in on the next boys night out. Have you seen Stella?"

"Yeah, but she's not in her office, she's headed out I think."

"On a case?"

"No I don't think so; it's been pretty quiet this morning."

Now Ashley is quite concerned, she really hopes Stella's disappearance has nothing to do with her mother. Mac and Lindsay happen to be walking through the hallway, so Eden questions them.

"Hey guys."

"Morning Eden, great result for you and Danny yesterday." Mac beams at her.

"Aw thanks Mac, I don't suppose you've seen Stella have you?" Mac looks up and see's Stella has just stepped off the elevator, looking rather pleased with herself.

"She's right there." He points in Stella's direction, causing Ashley to turn in the direction of the point, and everybody else to follow suit.

Stella cannot take the smile from her face, as she walks towards everyone, her eyes are firmly fixed on Eden though, who is smiling right back at her. To say Stella is nervous is an understatement, but she's excited as well. She finally reaches them all.

"Hey Sweetie."

"Hey." Ashley can't stop smiling, basically because Stella hasn't stopped grinning at her. "What's going on?"

"I wanna talk to you."

"Okay shall we go into your office?" Ashley is intrigued, although not worried; it can't be anything bad, based on the huge grin Stella hasn't been able to remove from her face.

"No here is fine."

This gets everybody's interest, including Danny and Hawkes who have now joined everybody else.

"Erm okay." Ashley doesn't really know what to think now.

"So Erm." Suddenly the nerves seem to take over, Stella takes a breath and composes herself. "I want you to know how much I love you."

"I know that." Ashley gets in quickly before Stella continues, now Lindsay is smiling like an idiot, she loves a good love story, everybody else just looks slightly puzzled.

"And I want you to know that I'm always going to be around, and that this is where I wanna be, nowhere else, and I can't imagine ever feeling any different."

Eden just smiles, she senses Stella isn't quite done, so decides to let her finish. Here goes nothing thinks Stella.

"So I was wondering." Stella decides traditional is best, she slowly drops down onto one knee, and the realisation suddenly dawns on Ashley what is actually happening. She can't help the shocked expression that appears on her face, she quickly puts her hand over her mouth, to try and cover the shock.

Stella smiles at Eden's reaction. "If you feel the same, that maybe you'd wanna spend the rest of your life with me." Stella pulls out a small box from her jacket pocket, and opens it to reveal a white gold diamond encrusted ring, with a larger diamond in the centre.

"Eden Ashley will you marry me?"

Ashley is so shocked, as is everybody else, Lindsay has already started crying, this is just the most romantic thing she has ever seen. Even Mac is smiling like a goon. Stella is starting to get a little worried, this must register with Ashley, as she realises she hasn't actually given an answer.

She removes her hand away from her mouth. "Of course I will."

The guys let out a cheer, and Stella, who is massively relieved, rises up from the floor slipping the ring onto Eden's finger and then throwing her arms around Eden's neck and pulling her in for a kiss.

Once they break, they turn to all the guys. Mac tries his best to put on a stern face but fails miserably. "You know, public displays of affection like that aren't really allowed." Eden and Stella look slightly worried, but the smile Mac has been trying desperately to hide, breaks out all over his face. "I suppose I can let it slide in this instance. Congratulations guys." He pulls them both in for a hug.

This pattern of congratulations and hugs, repeats itself for all the guys. Everyone is so happy for them, but not half as happy as they are for themselves. Yesterday was one of the worst days, today is certainly the very best.

**XXXXXXXXX**

SO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. HOPE YOU LIKED IT. ;)


	14. Chapter 14

**SORRY THIS UPDATE HAS TAKEN SO LONG, IVE HAD A BIT OF WRITERS BLOCK WITH HOW TO APPROCAH THE NEXT PART OF THE STORY. AS ALWAYS PLEASE REVIEW, LET ME KNOW IF I'm GETTING IT RIGHT OR NOT.**

**ALSO IF ANYONE IS ON TWITTER GIVE ME A FOLLOW. Eden_Ashley_Chr**

It has been a hectic few days, but certainly a happy few days. Ashley and Stella are currently lying in bed Ashley laid in Stella's arms, neither speaking, both just laying content. They are both aware they will have to move soon to get ready for work. But for now they are simply enjoying the moment.

Ashley has been thinking about their recent engagement, and starts to verbalise her thoughts.

"We should get you a ring."

Stella is awoken from her blissful thoughts, by Eden's words. Slightly surprised by the noise, she looks down at Eden, who pulls herself up so she is eye level with Stella, she can't remove the smile that's plastered all over her face. Stella can't help but lean in for a kiss.

"Good morning."

"Morning." Ashley reciprocates the kiss, and then gets back to her original train of thought before she is fully distracted by Stella.

"Seriously, we need to get you a ring." Ashley gives Stella her serious face, so she knows not to try anymore 'distracting'.

"Okay." Stella isn't really sure how this will work. Ashley senses Stella's confusion, so decides to explain herself better.

"Well you're engaged too right?"

"Well yeah obviously." Stella's brow furrows.

"So do you trust me to pick you out a ring, or do you wanna go pick one out together?" Ashley is secretly hoping she will let her choose, she already has the perfect ring in mind.

Stella mulls it over and decides she wants Eden to get it; it will just be more special if it's from her alone.

"I trust you." She decides to be playful "But you better not disappoint, I want the perfect t ring." She smirks as she says it, and Ashley immediately picks up on the playful tone.

"Ha, I didn't realise my fiancé was so demanding, I may have to rethink my acceptance of your proposal."

"Not a chance Ashley, once you say yes to me there's no going back. You're stuck with me for life."

Ashley pretends to um and ar, until she receives a swift smack on the arm from Stella. Which causes her to burst out laughing, the mock hurt face Stella puts on is classic.

"Ha ha I suppose I can live with that." Ashley snuggles back down into Stella's arms; Stella gives her a kiss on the head as she makes herself comfortable.

Ashley still has about a million questions on her mind, they have been so caught up in the bliss of the last few days, that they hadn't really discussed what was going to happen. Now the happy haze was starting to lift, Ashley's nature is to organise, she can help herself.

"So, do you want it to be a long engagement?" Stella again looks down at Eden, chuckling to herself, she knows she won't be happy until she has a least an idea of what's going to happen, and a loose timeline.

Ashley doesn't seem to notice Stella's chuckle, probably because she's going through all the scenarios in her head. Stella is very clear about what she wants.

"Well, we wanna get married don't we?" She doesn't wait for an answer, because it's abundantly clear. "So I don't see any point in waiting around. I think as soon as possible. But if you wanna wait, I don't mind."

Stella is careful to make sure Eden knows that if things are moving too fast they can slow it down. Eden smiles, Stella has basically said exactly what she wanted to hear.

"The sooner the better for me." A smile burst's onto Stella's face at Eden's words. Now that was settled it's Stella's turn to ask a question.

"Where do you wanna get married?"

Ashley has been giving this some serious thought; she decides to think out loud for Stella's benefit.

"Well, I was all for suggesting heading over to England." This takes Stella by surprise, and Ashley immediately see's the shock in her face, so she quickly explains herself.

"You know 'cos it's legal over there, and I wanna get married somewhere that means something to us. I wouldn't have been happy to just go to some random state where it is legal."

Stella is really touched by the amount of thought Eden has put into this, Ashley just smirks at her, as she continues.

"But it kinda seems like fate, that within days of you proposing they legalise same sex marriage right here in New York. The place that means everything to us as a couple, cos it's the only place we've known as a couple."

Stella was stunned and extremely happy when New York voted for gay marriage, it really did feel like everything was falling into place at exactly the right time. Eden was right about this place too, and its meaning within their relationship, she couldn't think of anywhere she would rather get married, than the place she's known and loved her entire life.

"I think New York is perfect."

Ashley is glad that's two things ticked off of her mental list. The cogs have started turning in her head details wise now.

"Right well you're in charge of venue, I guess we need to decide that first of all so we know when they can fit us in."

"Erm excuse me Miss Ashley, why am I in charge of venue?"

"Because, New York is your neck of the woods, you must know a million places, I haven't even been here a year yet, I've barely scratched the surface."

Stella has the perfect place in mind. "Cool, leave it to me."

Ashley jumps up out of bed, feeling like she could actually explode with happiness.

"Right wifey, get up, we've gotta get ready for work." She winks at Stella as she heads into the bathroom. Stella just sits in bed grinning like an idiot.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It was a largely uneventful day at work, Stella and Mac had arranged to go out for a bite to eat after shift, it seemed like so long since they had a real chat, and so much has happened in such a short space of time. Stella is really looking forward to this, they have just been seated at their table and Mac has just finished ordering drinks. He looks over at Stella who seems to be lost in her own world, he can't believe how incredibly happy she looks, he's not gunna lie it took him a while to get used to the idea of Stella and Ashley, but the look Stella has on her face right now, assures him that it is definitely right.

"So Stella, it seems like forever since we last did this." Mac smile as he takes a sip of his beer. "How are you?"

Stella smiles, as happy as she is with her life at the minute she has missed spending quality time with Mac.

"I'm ecstatic. You?"

"I'm really happy for you Stella. I've never seen you like this before. You deserve it."

"Aw thanks Mac."

Mac decides to turn conversation to the impending nuptials. He guesses there is nothing a woman would prefer to talk about.

"So you're getting married?" Stella can't help the smile that erupts onto her face as soon as Mac mentions the wedding, Mac obviously notices, and can't help but reciprocate. "How's the planning going?"

"Well we haven't really planned anything yet. Well except that were definitely getting married in New York."

"That's excellent news, may as well take advantage now it's legal."

"Well exactly." In fact Stella has something to ask Mac, no time like the present.

"In fact Mac, while we're on the subject of the wedding." This has perked Mac's interest. "You know you are one of the most important people in my life, well in fact along with Eden 'the' most important person in my life."

Mac smiles, truth be told he feels exactly the same way about Stella. There was a time in the past he thought maybe something romantic could happen between them, but now he feels more like a father figure, well no that makes him sound a million years old, more like a brother. Stella continues.

"I really want you to be a part of the wedding." She looks up into Mac's eyes, and see's what she hopes is pride. "Mac I want you to give me away."

Stella suddenly nervous, suddenly worried Mac might reject her, begins to nervous chatter, before Mac has a chance to answer.

"Because you know you're like my family, well not like, you are my family and my only family at that. . ."

Mac chuckles to himself; he can tell Stella is obviously nervous. He decides to put her out of her misery, he reaches across the table and grabs her hand, this instantly shuts Stella up, and when she looks up into his eyes, they are sparkling.

"Stella I would be honoured." He swallows hard feeling quite emotional. Stella picks up on this and becomes a little overwhelmed herself, she can feel the tears starting to formulate at the back of her eyes.

Mac takes a deep breath and shakes his head, the last thing he wants to do is cry, even if they are tears of joy and pride, Stella takes the opportunity to compose herself also.

"Thank you." She moves round the table and pulls Mac into a bear hug, which he gratefully accepts. The mutual love and affection between the two of them apparent for all to see. Stella is so happy he has accepted her offer.

Stella sits back down and they fall into a comfortable conversation. Both extremely content with how the evening has gone so far.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile across town, Eden is on one of her 'boy's nights out' with Adam and Flack. They are currently in their favourite sports bar watching the Knicks game.

Flack arrives back at the table with another round of beers, he is eager to turn the topic of conversation to Ashley's Wedding, he is off course extremely happy for Ashley, and Stella for that matter, but it wouldn't be right if he didn't give her some gentle ribbing, and the wedding will definitely give him more material.

"So Ashley, finally settling down huh?"

Ashley can tell where this is going by the cheeky glint in Flack's eyes, but she knows it's all in good spirit. She just nods at Flack to confirm her agreement with his statement, Adam smirks, Flack continues.

"Well we better savour tonight then, this could be the last time we get to hang out, you know what wives can be like."

Adam decides at this point he needs to join in. "Yep the old ball and chain; Stella might not like you hanging out with the guys once she has you up the aisle."

Ashley just shakes her head, will these guys ever learn, she loves the banter she has with them, but her game is far superior.

"Okay first, what do you two know about wives?" The smirks immediately drop from Adam, and Flack's faces, it's almost as if they have magically transmitted to Ashley's face.

"Second, while we're on the subject of weddings. . ." Ashley had been waiting for this moment all night, she knew the topic of the wedding was inevitable, and now the moment has arrived she is slightly nervous, but oh well here goes nothing.

"I was wondering if you guys would be my bridesmaids?"

Ashley smirks as she looks up at them, the look of utter shock on Flack's face is classic and Adam who had just taken a mouthful of beer, actually spits it out in surprise, this makes Ashley laugh out loud, she obviously needs to explain further.

"Well I don't mean actual bridesmaids obviously." This seems to calm the two of them down, Adam was having visions of himself in a pink meringue gown, not a pleasant thought. The ability to speak still escapes the two men, so Ashley continues.

"I suppose technically you would be my best men, except I guess women don't really have best men, so maybe male bridesmaids is the correct term . . ." Ashley is rambling now, she's nervous, mainly due to the fact that neither man has actually said anything.

Adam picks up on the straight away, and immediately envelopes Ashley into a bear hug, he actually feels quite emotional that she has asked.

"Ashley I would be honoured." Flack immediately follows suit throwing his arms around the both of them.

"Me too Ash, it really would be an honour."

They stand there for a good few minutes enjoying the embrace, the can all feel the love, respect and friendship that exists between the three of them. They stay like this until they hear the sound of someone clearing their throat next to them, they all turn slowly, to see Stella standing with her hands on her hips, with Mac just over her right shoulder, laughing at the look on their three faces.

"Oh so is this what goes on when you three get together is it?"

Their brains are still a little hazy from the emotional exchange a few seconds earlier, none of them really has the brain power to decipher if Stella is joking or not, they just look at each other and then to Stella and Mac, Stella can't help but put them out of their misery, as she bursts out laughing.

Ashley somewhat relieved, pulls Stella into a hug.

"What are you doing here?"

Stella smiles. "Well Mac and I were in the area, and I thought we could walk home together."

Flack, who has recovered from his previous trance like state can't resist. "Oh, I believe the Mrs is telling you its home time Ashley, nighty night." He winks at Ashley who just smiles. Stella can't help but fight for her woman's honour, even if it is only silly banter, she knows she can better Flack.

"Oh believe me Don the things I'll be doing to her when we get home, she wouldn't dream of being anywhere else."

Ashley beams at Flack, who chokes on his drink, Adam and Mac burst out laughing. Stella satisfied with her winning comeback, turns to Eden.

"Erm, but I haven't actually come to take you home." Ashley raises her eyebrows, slightly disappointed. "I thought we could stay for a drink?"

"Cool fine by me." Ashley smiles and leans in and steals a quick kiss from Stella, she's been dying to that ever since she walked in.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The five of them have been happily chatting for the last 20 minutes or so, Ashley decides it's time to tell Stella about her best men, she didn't actually discuss it with her previously, not that there should be a problem of course.

"So Stel, I've asked these guys to be my bridesmaids." She looks over at Flack and Adam wiggling her eyebrows as she says it.

"Cool, I'm gunna ask Lindsay and Lucy to be mine, so the four of you should probably get together to discuss dresses and stuff."

Stella manages to keep a deadly straight face as she says it, and just looks over at the two boys expectantly. Ashley catches eye contact with Mac, and it takes all they have not to burst out laughing.

Flack and Adam, don't really know what to do, they just sit there playing with their bottles, trying to think of some intelligent way to tell Stella that there's no way they're gunna be wearing dresses.

Stella can't hold it in any longer and breaks into a fit of laughter, at the little boy lost look on each of their faces, Ashley and Mac follow suit.

Relief washes over Adam and Flack. "Oh very funny." This is best flack can do at the moment; a more witty response escapes him.

Stella wants to bring proceedings back on topic. "I've asked Mac to give me away."

Ashley smiles and looks over to Mac, who oozes pride at the moment; Ashley can see how happy this is making both of them.

"That's excellent." Ashley is really starting to get excited now; there is a real sense of occasion building. Ashley meant to ask the next question in private, but she can't help herself.

"So I was thinking maybe we could move your stuff into my apartment sooner rather than later?"

They had already discussed living arrangements and had decided that Stella would move into Eden's apartment, well their apartment, she already spends most of her time there so it makes sense, but they hadn't actually discussed when. Stella's lack of response makes Ashley question herself a little.

"I mean, y'know if you want too?"

Stella realises she hasn't verbalised the happiness she is feeling right now, she has wanted to move in for a while now, but didn't want to be too pushy, so she was waiting for Eden to ask.

"Of course I want too. As soon as possible."

Now it's Ashley who is overcome by a wave of relief, she looks over to Flack and Adam.

"Well that all depends on my movers extraordinaire over here."

Adam smiles. "Well you know the rules Ash, you provide the beers and the pizza, and we'll provide the muscles." Adams starts posturing, causing everybody else to laugh.

"Well I'm free this weekend. That work for you Adam?" Flack looks over for confirmation which he receives by way of a nod. "Does that work for you ladies?"

"Works for me." Ashley smiles.

"And me." Stella agrees.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Stella and Eden had arrived home about ten minutes ago, Stella is out on the balcony, taking in the view, she loves this view, especially at night when the whole city is lit up like this. This city that she has known her entire life, but she feels like it's changed somehow over the last 9 months, since she's know Eden, New York had lost some of its sparkle, it became a dull place full of murder and crime, and Stella had become bogged down in it all. But now it has some of its wonderment back, I mean the dingy crime ridden New York is still here, Stella can't escape this, she deals with it every day, but at night, when it's like this, and she's with Eden, New York gets it's romance back.

Stella is brought back from her thoughts, by Eden slipping her arms round her from behind, and kissing the side of her face.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Stella just nods in agreement, still lost in the moment, Ashley moves round so she is now next to Stella, leaning on the balcony wall, and looking out into the city, she continues her musings.

"It looks magical tonight."

Stella couldn't agree more. Ashley continues again, she wants this to be perfect.

"You know I've only ever seen one thing more beautiful than New York City at night."

Stella is intrigued. "Oh yeah what's that?"

Ashley just turns and looks into Stella's eyes, Stella can tell immediately that Eden was talking about her. The look of pure love in Eden's eyes right now, takes Stella's breath away.

Eden decides to pounce while they are both ensnared in this magical moment. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a box; Stella watches her movements but can't actually formulate a sentence, which is good because Ashley needs to speak.

"Never in my life, did I think I would be lucky enough to meet and fall in love with someone like you." Ashley takes a deep breath to steady her nerves.

"Let alone ever believe that you could love me back." This causes them both to chuckle. Ashley opens the box, and Stella's eyes are immediately drawn down to the beautiful ring. Its white gold, very similar to Eden's except instead of just clear diamonds, it has blue one's running through it as well, it really is beautiful.

"So I was thinking, since I've agreed to marry you and all, if you wouldn't mind wearing this ring, so the whole world knows you're mine?"

This causes them both to laugh; they are both on the verge of very, very happy tears though. Ashley slips the ring out of the box, and onto Stella's finger. And then pulls her in for a kiss, and that's how they stay, embracing with beautiful, sparkly New York in all its glory as the back drop.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**THIS WAS MORE A CHAPTER TO TIE THINGS TOGETHER, NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE MORE OF A 'STORY'.**

**PLEASE REVIEW **


	15. Chapter 15

**SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG TO UPDATE! HAD A TOUCH MORE WRITERS BLOCK. ANYWAY, HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER. NEXT ONE SHOULD FOLLOW PRETTY QUICKLY!**

**AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, THE REVIEWS SEEM TO BE DWINDLING, SHOULD I TAKE THIS AS A SIGN TO WRAP IT UP QUICKLY? IF SO LET ME KNOW THIS ALSO! **

**ALSO, FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME AN FOLLOW OR ANY FEED BACK ON TWITTER Eden_Ashley_Chr**

Stella is sitting, patiently waiting. The butterflies she is feeling in her stomach are not new to her, since Eden Ashley had stormed into her life, this nervousness in the pit of her stomach, has been a regular occurrence. Usually though, it was good nerves. In this instance however, it was pure terror. She is genuinely scared and panicky about what is about to take place.

She swallows hard and takes a deep breath as the cause of all her anxiety appears from a doorway and into the hall. She smiles nervously, and rises from her seat, as the aging man makes his way towards her, his huge smile and warm welcoming features, calm Stella a little, but then the reason she's here creeps back into her mind and the fear returns to her soul.

Gale Christos is an elderly gentleman, and it shows, he seems shorter than Stella remembers, and looks a lot more fragile, but she would recognise that smile anywhere. He was the pastor at the local Greek Catholic church Stella attended as she was growing up, and he was very much involved in the community, in her community, and was and still is really a big part of Stella's life, although she hasn't been around as much as she would like in the last few years, due to work and the such like. As the man grows closer and his smiles widens and the sparkle in his eyes grows more intense, Stella decides there and then, that she is definitely going to make more of an effort to spend more time here. That's if they still want her to be part of the community after, she's finished with what she's got to say. And once again, with that thought the anxiety returns, tenfold.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Stella Bonasera. Ah Kopela mou. Why has it been so long?"

The use of his nickname for her, makes her heart melt instantly, he pulls her in to a hug. When Stella pulls back and looks into his deep hazelnut eyes.

"Agapao mou, I'm sorry it's been so long." She smiles with a sadness in her eyes, it has been far too long.

"Don't fret my child, you're here now, and that's all that matters. Come come, I have made us tea." He ushers Stella into his parlour, and gestures for her to sit at the table, the tea is already set out. Stella's nervousness is radiating, and Gale can see there is clearly something wrong, he can tell Stella is here for a particular reason, and he decides to let her get to it in her own time.

Stella, knows that he knows she has something to say, she runs over her thoughts one last time in her head, it has always been her dream to get married in the church she had spent her childhood in, and in different circumstances she knew that Gale would accommodate her wishes no problem, but in these particular circumstances, well to put it mildly she's worried. She almost didn't come today, she doesn't really want to put herself through this, but nagging away in the back of her mind is the thought if she had never asked, she would never know. And in spite of his religious beliefs, Gale has been a big part of Stella's life; he deserves to know she is getting married, regardless of what his reaction may be.

He finishes stirring the tea and hands the cup to Stella. He still has the huge smile on his face.

"So Stella, how are you?"

"I'm good. In fact I'm really good. That's why I'm here actually, I have some news." Stella really can't bear the awkwardness she is feeling right now, she decides, as is usually the case with her, to get straight to the point. Gale is intrigued.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and I'm, going to tell you, but I would appreciate it, if you would let me finish before you react at all. Ok?"

Gale just nods, he is really intrigued now.

"I'm getting married." Stella doesn't make eye contact as she says this as she knows what coming next, she just swallows hard, her mouth increasingly dry and she starts mentally preparing her next sentence. She doesn't get the chance to vocalise it immediately.

"Oh, Stella that's wonderful news." Gale instantly forgets Stella's previous instructions; he can't contain his joy, that is until he sees the look on Stella's face, the 'I thought I told you to let me finish first' look. This calms his excitement, he decides against speaking anymore, and sits back in his chair, apparently his excitement had caused him to jump out of his chair! He hadn't even realised. He nods at Stella confirming he is now prepared to listen to the rest.

Stella swallows hard again. His reaction has made this ten times harder for her now. She is dreading looking into his eyes, once she has told him the full story, she will be devastated if that sparkle is no longer there.

"Well, erm. The thing is." Nerves definitely taking over, this really does have Gale concerned. "You can't always help who you fall in love with. To me the most important thing is that you're in love at all."

She looks up at Gale, she is aware she rambling, which is confirmed by the look of confusion on his face, she continues hoping her sentence will start to make sense at some point.

"I really am. In love I mean. Like really the most in love I've ever been, I didn't even know I was capable of love like this."

She looks up at Gale, she needs him to understand this, the fact that his smile has grown even wider, is confirmation that he has. Stella really is at a loss on how to continue here. Gale senses that she is struggling, he's a little scared to speak as he knows she is most definitely not finished, but he feels he needs to prompt her a little.

"That's wonderful Stella." He moves closer to her. "You know I can tell by the way your face lights up, when you talk about this love, that this man must be really special." He puts an arm around her and pulls her in close.

Stella's heart sinks at his words. "That's just it." It's barely a whisper as it comes out. "It's not a man, it's a woman."

Stella shuts her eyes tight, and waits for the reaction, she has about a million and one thoughts running through her head, but she doesn't know which one to grasp onto until she has a reaction. She is slightly comforted by the fact that his grip on her hasn't lessened.

Gale lets the information absorb, it certainly isn't what he was expecting, but his initial thought stands, this must be a very special person for Stella, to be this in love. He looks down at her in his arms, and realises the turmoil she must be going through, she still wanted to tell him, even though she couldn't be sure of his reaction. He is slightly hurt that she thinks he would be anything other than happy for her. He gently kisses her on the top of the head. This causes Stella to slowly look up and into his eyes, he can see tears starting to form in hers, which makes him sad, Stella is delighted that he hasn't lost the sparkle from his, although his smile does seem to faltering slightly.

He realises he hasn't said anything yet.

"This woman, she makes you this happy?" Stella just nods astounded that he hasn't reacted badly, he is a beautiful man and a decent human being, but he is very religious.

"Then how could I be anything but happy for you?" He tries to put her mind at rest. Now it's Stella's turn to be confused, she has to ask.

"But the church?" He chuckles.

"The church is a lot more understanding these days. And Stella you know me better than this, I am a man of the church, but first and foremost I am a man of my own heart, somewhere that you have a special place." He grabs her hands to reiterate what he is about to say, and looks deep into her eyes.

"I am happy for you. I can't wait to meet the lucky lady, to make sure she's good enough for you."

Stella just bursts into happy sporadic laughter, and throws her arms around his neck, and devours him in a hug, one which he gladly reciprocates. He is of course aware of Stella's childhood dream, to get married in the church; he pulls back from the hug.

"Unfortunately Stella, the church wouldn't be quite so understanding." For the first time today Stella see's genuine sadness in his face.

"I know it was your dream to get married in that church." Now it's his turn to look away. Stella immediately understands what he is saying, there is no way she would ever be allowed to marry in the church, and although this does make her sad, she is just so happy with Gale's reaction that the church issue is merely a minor blow.

"It doesn't matter. As long as you come to the wedding."

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it." The cogs in his mind are working overtime. He has, what he feels is a brilliant idea. The smile instantly springs back onto his face, Stella notices and starts to wonder what he's planning, she doesn't have to wait long to find out.

"The old hall." It's not a question as far as Stella can tell, just a statement. She instantly knows what he means, the old hall, is a hall affiliated with the church, it's just as old and as beautiful as the church itself. Stella used to have Sunday school and other activities in the hall. She is still none the wiser as to where Gale is going with this.

"The hall, although it's part of the church, it doesn't hold the same sacred ground as the church, and the same rules don't apply in there." He is so very excited. "You can get married in the old hall, its perfect."

The more Stella thinks about the more she realises that it would actually be perfect.

"Are you sure it would be okay?"

"Of course. Whatever I say goes. Father Ballas will marry you."

Stella is taken aback by the speed at which Gale's ideas are rolling out; she needs to calm him a little. "Are you sure? Shouldn't you ask him first?"

"No need, he's done gay marriage before, he's a young man, much more liberal and open minded than those elders in the church. He would be happy to marry you in the old hall."

He simply cannot contain his excitement. Stella's heart bursts, she has never seen the old man this animated, it really is a joyous thing to see.

"The best thing is there is no waiting list, you could get married whenever you like."

This is food for thought for Stella, she cannot believe how well this has gone, she manages to calm Gale down, and they spend the rest of the afternoon chatting happily and catching up. They called Father Ballas who told them he would be delighted to conduct the service, and in fact he was available two Saturdays from now. Two weeks, that is pretty soon, but it excites her that she could be married so quickly. Now just to get Eden on board.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is at the lab, doing not much at all. Well in terms of work, she's been doing plenty of worrying. She knows where Stella is, and she knows how crushed she will be if things don't go to plan. The thing is she's been gone for hours, and Ashley doesn't know if this is a good or a bad thing. She has heard absolutely nothing from her. She keeps trying to play all the different scenarios through in her head, but she still has no idea what could be happening. To the point that she's been looking at a piece of evidence for like an hour, and right now she really couldn't tell you even what it is, no concentration whatsoever. She exhales loudly, frustrated.

Little does she know that she's had a spectator for the last few minutes, as is usual when she gets the chance, Stella had been admiring Eden from the doorway. She was doing so quietly until she heard the exasperation from Eden.

"Hey what was that massive sigh for?" She says it playfully although she is genuinely concerned. She moves into the lab, closing the door behind her. Ashley initially startled by Stella's presence, immediately gets her CSI brain into gear, she assess Stella's face and decides that she hasn't been crying, and studies her demeanour which also seems fine.

Stella watches Eden's eyes dart all over her, she looks really worried, she needs to reassure her that everything's okay.

"Hey, are you listening to me Ashley?"

Ashley this time picks up on Stella's playful tone and relaxes instantly, smiling, she pulls Stella towards her by the wrist until she is standing right in front of her.

"I take it, it went well then?"

"I went better than that." Stella can't conceal her huge grin.

"Really do tell." Ashley slips her arms round Stella's waist as she waits for an explanation, and kisses her on the cheek.

"How would you feel about getting married two weeks from now?"

Ashley is clearly shocked. "Two weeks from today?" Stella laughs at her expression.

"Well two weeks this Saturday."

"I take it you got the venue sorted then?" Ashley is really shocked; it seems that Stella's visit went a lot better than anticipated.

"Oh yeah, venue is ours if we want it, it's not the church itself, but it's just as good. In fact I can take you down there this afternoon, to make sure you like it."

"I'm sure I'll love it. Two weeks huh? Will we have time to arrange everything?"

"I'm sure we can do it, if we really want too. Can I take it that the two week time scale hasn't scared you to death then?"

"Absolutely not, the sooner I get you tied down the better." Ashley wiggles her eyebrows, causing Stella to burst out laughing again.

"Right then, as long as you approve of the venue, we are getting married in two weeks."

The reality of it seems to hit them both as soon as Stella finishes her sentence. They just collapse into each other in a massive hug. Excited, nervous, and quite emotional. Ashley composes herself first, pulling back from the hug, kissing Stella on the cheek again, she takes a deep breath, and the realisation hits her.

"Wow I better call my Grandmother."

Stella laughs, as she watches Eden rush out of the lab to grab her cell phone. She still has to pinch herself when she thinks about how her life has changed recently, and how unbelievably happy she now is. And to think she nearly threw this all away.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"Alright, one more step."

Stella is currently behind Ashley with her hands over her eyes, trying to guide her to the front of the old hall. Ashley is slightly worried that Stella is going to lead her right down a manhole or something, but she is extremely excited to see the place.

"Okay, you ready." There's laughter in Stella's voice as she speaks, and it makes Ashley heart flutter to think that she's the reason it's there.

"Yes I'm ready."

Stella removes her hands from Eden's eyes, and immediately moves round so she is standing by her side, but rather than look at the building she looks at Eden's face as she takes in the sight before her.

Ashley thinks the building is beautiful, it takes her breath away. It's so old and ornate, and undeniably Greek. She can imagine Stella here as a child. It's perfect.

Stella can tell she loves it, from her expression; this has gotten her really excited.

"Come on, I wanna show you inside." She grabs Eden's hand and pulls her through the huge wooden door and into the hall.

Ashley's breath is taken away again. It really is the most amazing building, inside surpasses outside, the original features, are outstanding, Ashley just stands there in awe, looking up at the ceiling. Stella smiles, this is even better than she remembers.

She walks through the building, with Eden close being, and settles on a bench right in the centre of the cavernous room. She sits, and grabs Eden's hand, who stays standing still looking all around taking in the room.

"So, you doing anything two weeks Saturday?" Stella smiles, Ashley pulls her eyes from the amazing view, and looks at arguably an even more outstanding view, she smiles back at Stella.

"I'm getting married. You?" Ashley smirks.

Stella's heart explodes, she has no words, she just rises so she's level with Eden and pulls her into a kiss. They lose track of time as they stand there like this in their wedding venue.

**XXXXXXXXX**

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	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

**ALRIGHT GUYS, THIS IS MORE OF A FILLER CHAPTER, TO GET US TO THE NEXT ONE WHICH WILL BE THE STAG DO'S AND THE WEDDING. AFTER THAT ITS REALLY UP TO YOU WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. I CAN FINISH IT AFTER THE WEDDING, OR CAN CONTINUE, I HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS FOR THEIR LIVES TOGETHER ETC. LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT IT TO CONTINUE, OR IF YOU THINK ITS FAR TOO LONG ALREADY! LOL.**

It is now the Monday before the big wedding, which is due to take place this Saturday, the last week has flown by, and Ashley and Stella have realised just how hard it is to arrange a wedding on two weeks' notice. But they have managed it. Just about.

Ashley is now standing in the hustle bustle of terminal four, of JFK, the London flight has just touched down, she's actually really excited, the last time she saw her grandmother was just before she started working in New York, it's been almost a year. Of course they speak a lot over the phone, but it's not the same. She's clutching a bouquet of flowers, she knows her grandmother would never forgive her she wasn't waiting bearing gifts.

All of a sudden there's a break in the crowds and Ashley see's her, Audrey Harbridge in all her glory, she's in her 70's but isn't in the slightest bit frail, Ashley chuckles to herself as she sees the oversized hat her grandmother is wearing. She makes her way over, as soon as Audrey see's her Granddaughter her face lights up.

Ashley throws her arms around her grandmother, and Audrey readily reciprocates. She slowly pulls away and looks her granddaughter in the face, smiling, Ashley just smiles back. That is until her grandmother gives her a swift slap on the arm.

"It's been far too long Eden Alexa." Ashley cringes at the use of her middle name. She smiles and hands her the flowers.

"I know Grandma, I'm sorry. I've been extremely busy." Audrey accepts the flowers and takes in the scent. She grins at Eden's words.

"I believe so, when do I get to meet the lucky lady?"

"Just as soon as we grab your bags and get out of here." She puts her arm around her grandmother and kisses her on the head, as she steers her towards baggage claim.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you too kiddo."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Stella is sitting in her office, looking at her computer screen. She has a million things to do but she can't seem to concentrate on anything. Other than the impending introduction she's about to have. She's never really 'met the parents' before so she had no idea how she would feel about it, but she certainly wasn't expecting to feel this nervous. She knows how protective Eden's grandmother is of her, and knows she will want to make sure her granddaughter is with the right woman.

She's dragged from her thoughts by Mac gently knocking on her door and letting himself in. Without saying a word he sits opposite Stella on the other side of the desk, and just beams at her. He can tell she's nervous and needs calming down. Stella is still slightly agitated, and not fully concentrating on the fact that Mac has just entered the room, she is however aware of his presence.

"Hey Mac, what can I do for you." She doesn't even look away from her screen.

Mac chuckles she must be nervous. "You know, I remember the first time I met Claire's parents."

This get's Stella's attention is it that obvious she's this nervous, Mac continues.

"I was so nervous; I just talked and talked and talked." He laughs as he recalls. Stella smiles. He shakes his head and comes out of the memory.

"Claire's father, took me to one side just before I left, he said he could tell instantly how much I loved his daughter. He shook my hand, and told me to look after her. And that was it."

He looks Stella in the eyes. "Stella, whenever you and Eden are in the same room together, its obvious how much you love her, and how much she loves you back. You have got nothing to be worried about."

He reaches over and grabs Stella's hand across the desk. She smiles at him grateful of the reassurance. Mac smirks.

"Now I don't mean to panic you but, the cause of all your anxiety has just turned up with your bride to be."

The smile instantly drops from Stella's face, and the nerves are immediately back in the pit of her stomach. Mac can't help but laugh.

"Stella, come on, I already told you, and you've got nothing to worry about."

"I wish I had your confidence." She swallows her throat strangely dry.

"Come on, they're waiting for us in the main lab." Mac grabs Stella's hand and pulls her to her feet and in the direction of her office door.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is in the main lab, with the whole team except Stella and Mac, she sits back and lets her grandmother take centre stage, she has introduced her to the whole team, but Audrey seems intent on speaking to Adam and Flack, this is of course because Eden talks about them all the time, she likes what she's heard about these boys. They look after her little girl, and from what she's heard they also know how to have a laugh.

"So Adam, do you have a little crush on my granddaughter?" Ashley just laughs and shakes her head, trust her grandmother.

Adam instantly starts to turn beet red, and can't seem to formulate a sentence, just lots of erm's and ah's. Definitely wasn't expecting that. Audrey smiles, and turns to Flack, who has been laughing a little too loudly at Adam's downfall.

"So detective Flack, do you have a girlfriend?"

Flack tears his eyes away from Adam, who seems quite relieved that the focus is off of him. He looks at Audrey, and smiles.

"No ma'am."

"You want one?" Audrey smirks.

Ashley immediately stops smiling, and her head whips up. "Grandma!" The level of disgust in Eden's voice makes Audrey and the rest of the team burst out laughing.

"Don't worry kiddo." She looks over at Flack, looking him up and down. "He wouldn't last five minutes; I'd eat him for breakfast."

Flack laughs, he likes this old lady, she's got balls.

Ashley tuts and shakes her head, but is satisfied that they all seem to get her grandmothers weird sense of human, and no one appears to think she's crazy.

Just then Mac strides into the lab, followed closely by a lot less confident looking Stella. Ashley can tell immediately that she's nervous, so gives her a reassuring smile. Stella instantly relaxes.

Mac wastes no time introducing himself to Audrey.

"You must be Mrs Harbridge. I'm Mac Taylor, pleased to meet you." He shakes Audrey's hand and smiles.

"Detective Taylor, please call me Audrey."

"Only if you call me Mac."

"Mac." She nods her head. "Ashley has told be so much about you." She looks past Mac at Stella, loitering in the background, looking apprehensive.

"But not as much as she's told me about you." She moves past Mac, so she's face to face with Stella, who smiles back at the old lady, now she knows where Eden got her beautiful warm eyes.

"Don't look so nervous my dear. I'm delighted to finally meet you." She holds her hand out to Stella, she grabs it shakes her hand and then holds it.

"The pleasure is all mine."

Audrey smiles, she knows in an instant that she has no reason to worry; everything Eden has told her about this woman is true. She wants to get to know her better. No time like the present.

"Right Stella, me and you have got lots to catch up on. I've got a million embarrassing stories to tell you about this one." She gestures over to Eden, who is currently feeling quite emotional, have just witnessed the interaction between, the two most important women in her life. She can't manage any words. Audrey continues.

"And about as many embarrassing baby photos." Stella looks at Eden and wiggles her eyebrows.

"That sounds interesting."

"Shall we go and grab a coffee."

Audrey immediately starts heading for the exit, not really giving Stella an option, not that she would have said no of course. Stella looks over at Eden, now it's her turn to wiggle her eyebrows.

"I guess I'll seeya later."

"Yep, enjoy yourself. And Grandma." She looks over to Audrey in the doorway. "Try not to embarrass me too much; I'm trying to marry this woman."

"I make no promises kiddo." She winks at Eden, and then follows Stella out towards the elevator.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella thanks the waitress as she places her coffee on the table. Audrey watches Stella as she gently blows the coffee, to make it cool enough to drink. She still looks nervous, Audrey can't really blame her.

"So Stella, let's get to know each other better." Stella looks up and smiles.

"Well I kinda feel like I already know you, Eden talks about you so much."

Audrey chuckles. "I could say the same about you." Time to get serious. "My Eden, she really is a very special girl."

Stella looks up, taken aback by the level of love in Audrey's words. "I know. You did a great job raising her."

"Thank you. It really was a pleasure, that young woman has provided me more joy in my life than I ever thought possible." Audrey sincerely means it.

"I know exactly what you mean." Stella looks knowingly into Audrey's eyes.

Audrey likes Stella, one thing she's sure of, even though they've only been together mere moments is that this woman loves her granddaughter. But Eden has been through so much in her life, so much pain; she has to make sure that Stella is sure 100% that this is what she wants. As harsh at what she about to initiate may seem, she feels she needs to do it. After all she isn't going to be around forever to look out for Eden, she needs to make sure Stella is an adequate replacement. Here goes nothing.

Stella can tell that Audrey is looking for words to say, she has been waiting for the inevitable 'talk'. Eden had pre warned her that she may get a Spanish inquisition. She can hardly blame Audrey for wanting to make sure she was going to treat Eden right, and she is more than confident that she will pass with flying colours.

"So Stella, this is your first relationship with a woman." It was as good a place to start as any she guessed. This has been a particular concern for her, especially considering they haven't been together that long.

"Yes." Stella immediately feels awkward, but gets ready to go on the defensive; she is determined to prove herself to this woman.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" She looks Stella square in the eyes, she notices her jaw clench, Stella looks ready to attack, a good sign as far as Audrey is concerned.

"I am absolutely sure, that Eden is what I want. Male, Female, whatever, doesn't come into for me. I want Eden." Stella meets Audrey's gaze with sheer determination in her eyes.

Audrey is impressed. "Good answer." The older lady has a glint her eyes, Stella relaxes slightly.

"You know it probably won't be an easy life for you two."

"With all due respect Audrey, Eden has turned my whole life upside down, and it's been far from easy this far. But we've made it, and I have no intention of letting her go, because despite all the struggles, we've had, and the ones I'm sure we'll have in the future, it's all worthwhile because at the end of it, I get to be with her."

Stella was looking at the table the whole time she was speaking, she takes a deep breath, and risks looking up at Audrey, when she does she is greeted by the most loving smile, she notices Audrey's eyes are glistening with emotion.

Audrey reaches over and grabs Stella's hand. No words are needed. This one is definitely the one for her granddaughter. No doubt about it.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has just about finished at the lab, she has just called Stella, her and Audrey are waiting for her back at the apartment, she's relieved that it seems Stella has survived her grandmother for the afternoon, and now she can't wait to get home, and catch up with her two favourite ladies. Just as she's gathering the last of her things together in one of the smaller labs, Flack and Adam walk in looking deadly serious. They close the lab door behind them. Ashley stops what she's doing and waits, expectantly, and if she's honest a little worriedly. Flack is first to speak.

"Right Ashley, we have serious business to discuss."

Ashley who is still highly confused by what's going on just states, "We do?"

"Oh yes." Adam gives a hint of a smile, which makes Ashley think it can't be anything too serious. Flack takes the confused look on Ashley's face as grounds to continue.

"As your best men, we have taken it upon ourselves to arrange your bachelor party." Flack mulls this over quickly, it doesn't sound right.

"Your bachelorette party." Again as soon as he says it, it doesn't sound right. Adam steps in.

"Your Stag Do." He says it in a fake British accent which makes Ashley laugh out loud.

"Erm guys, I appreciate the sentiment, but how is that even gunna work, I mean if I'm having one, Stella should have one, who would be invited to each one?"

Flack beams, all the small details have been worked out. "Well it would be me you Adam and Danny, for yours, and Stella, Mac, Hawkes and Lindsay for Stella's. And I guess your gran would be with us."

"Ha, ha. You guys have really thought this through."

Adam's turn to pipe in now, Ashley feels like she's being tag teamed.

"We certainly have, and we thought it would be a good idea to start as two separate groups and then meet up at the end of the night, so everyone gets to see everyone."

Flack now jumps in to continue the pattern, Ashley's head just moves from left to right and then back again as they speak, she feels like she watching a tennis match.

"So we thought we would do it this Thursday night, not Friday, that way we won't be ruining any 'not allowed to see the bride the night before the wedding' rules you may have."

Flack and Adam just stand grinning like idiots, to be fair Ashley has a matching grin. She assumes that because neither of them have spoken for a few seconds, that she is now free to speak.

"Well I'm not sure we're gunna be quite as traditional as that, but it makes sense to do it the Thursday, so I'm not hung-over to my own wedding."

This is what Adam and Flack love about Ashley, she is always game for a laugh.

"So that's settled then. Right Adam, we've got plans to finalise."

Flack wiggles his eyebrows at Ashley then moves to leave the room. Before leaving Adam turns to Ashley.

"Don't worry it won't be too crazy. We've got Lindsay and Mac on the case too; they've got plenty of ideas for Stella too."

Ashley smiles. "Adam I do want to make it too my wedding."

He just shakes his head and smiles, and then follows Flack out of the room. Ashley takes a breath and realises just how close the big day actually is. Today is Monday, this time in five days; she will be a married woman. Her stomach starts to do somersaults. Excitement, nerves, anxiety all rolled into one, these are emotions she's become used to so far in her relationship. It blows her mind when she thinks about how far she and Stella have come in the last year.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley walks into her apartment, she can hear happy chatter, and can smell something delicious, looks like Stella really has been going all out to impress. She steps into the living room, and sees Stella and Audrey sitting on the couch, laughing and chatting. It makes her heart swell; she can feel moisture in her eyes.

Stella can feel eyes on her; she looks up to see Eden smiling at the two of them sitting there. Stella jumps up.

"Hey Shorty, you're home." She grabs Eden and pulls her into a hug. Ashley pulls back and just looks at Stella, emotion flowing, she can't find the words to express how she feels, she tries to convey it in a kiss; she gently caresses Stella's lips with her own. Stella is happy to respond.

Audrey watches from the couch, huge smile on her face, she has become more than convinced throughout the course of the afternoon that Stella really does love her granddaughter, and here she can see it live in front of her. She can also see the emotion in Eden's face, she knows all she's ever wanted is a family that gets along, and it seems she's finally going to get something that resembles that.

Stella pulls back, and smiles. "Right, now you're home I'm gunna finish dinner." She pecks her on the lips, and heads over into the kitchen.

Ashley looks over to Audrey and can't help but match the huge grin that she's greeted with. She heads over and drops onto the sofa next to her grandmother and pulls her into a hug. When she pulls back she decides it's time to get the low down.

"So what do you think?"

Audrey contemplates teasing her granddaughter but thinks better of it. "You know how I told you the story about when I met your grandfather?"

"Yeah you said you just knew, he was the one for you, Love at first sight wasn't it?" Ashley says teasingly as she smiles over to her grandmother.

"Not quite, but I knew he was my soul mate." Audrey states simply "She is your soul mate."

Ashley had never really thought about it before, she wasn't sure she actually believed in soul mates, but the more she thinks about it the more she thinks Audrey could be right. Two people meant to be together, two souls entwined. It certainly was a force of nature when she and Stella met.

"So you approve then?" Ashley laughs and Audrey can't help but join in.

"She's perfect; I can't wait for Saturday now." Audrey says it with genuine excitement.

Stella joins the two of them. "Dinner will about 30 minutes." She looks at Eden "How was work?"

"It was okay; do you know that we are having bachelorette parties planned for us?"

"Yeah this Thursday. Lindsay mentioned something."

"How are the wedding plans coming along?" Audrey knows they haven't had a lot of time to plan. Ashley moves to reassure her grandmother quickly.

"Well venue is sorted, all the seating and lighting and everything is done." Stella joins in to help Eden.

"Yep the flowers are being arranged in there on Friday, the reception venue is taken care of . . ."

"And the final dress fittings are tomorrow, you can come with me if you like? Stella has Lindsay and Lucy helping her, it's not really Adam and Flacks cup of tea."

They all chuckle. "I would love too, sounds like you've got everything sorted. Quite impressive in such a short space of time."

"Well that's mainly down to Eden, I've never known anyone as organised."

Audrey smiles knowingly. It's a good job her granddaughter is so efficient tomorrow is Tuesday, just four days to go until the big day. She for one cannot wait.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH A REVIEW – GOOD OR BAD – CAN GET YOU THROUGH WRITERS BLOCK, OR REALLY GIVE YOU THE MOTIVATION TO WRITE.**

**ALSO A QUICK QUESTION REGARDING SURNAMES – DO YOU THINK OUR LADIES SHOULD KEEP THEIR OWN, OR SHOULD EDEN TAKE STELLAS OR VICE VERSA? I'm REALLY NOT SURE SO ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE GREATLY ACCEPTED.**

**AS ALSO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER (AT) EDEN_ASHLEY_CHR**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

**OKAY GUYS, SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG HAD A BAD CASE OF WRITERS BLOCK – THIS IS A LOOOOOONG CHAPTER I DONT KNOW IF THAT MAKES UP FOR THE DELAY OR NOT! BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. ALSO WHEN SOMEONE ASKS ME A QUESTION IN THE REVIEW, I GENERALLY ANSWER IT IN THE REVIEWS? I DONT KNOW IF THIS IS THE DONE THING OR NOT, SO SORRY IF ITS NOT, BUT ALL THE ANSWER ARE IN THERE.**

Ashley is standing in the elevator on her way up to the lab, she can't help reminiscing back to that day around a year ago when she was doing this for the first time, and she smiles at the thought. She remembers how nervous and excited she was back then. Today she has similar feelings. Today is Thursday, she is getting married in two days, and right now she is about to round up Flack and Adam for a pre stag do favour.

She steps out of the elevator and heads straight to Stella's office, she probably won't see her again until a lot later on tonight, when the two stag do's are due to merge. Ashley reaches the door to the office, she looks through the glass door and sees Stella lost in thought leaning over her desk, looking at a file, she's wearing her glasses, Ashley loves it when she wears her glasses. She pushes the door open, with a huge smile on her face, startled Stella instantly looks up, and replicates her smile.

"Hey gorgeous." Ashley can't help it, Stella really does look beautiful.

"Hey Shorty, what are you doing here?" Stella isn't complaining, she rises from her desk and pulls Eden in for a quick kiss.

"I'm here to pick up the boys; I've got a road trip planned before the games begin later."

Stella furrows her eyebrows, this is the first time Eden has mentioned a road trip, Ashley immediately picks up on Stella's confusion.

"I know I haven't mentioned it before, but it really is something I need to do. And if it's okay with you it's something I'd rather we talk about later."

Now Stella is slightly worried, she can't for the life of her think what it could be. "Should I be worried?"

"No." Ashley states simply. She can tell Stella still isn't convinced. "Trust me?"

Stella immediately relaxes, because if there's one thing she's sure of, it's that she can most definitely trust Eden, with her life, and more importantly with her heart.

"Of course."

Ashley smiles and leans in for a kiss. "What time are you and Lindsay heading out?"

"Around 8 I think." Stella is really looking forward to celebrating her last few days as a single woman.

"So do you know what she's got planned? Male stripper perhaps?" Ashley wiggles her eyebrows.

Stella decides to tease. "Maybe, I mean after all it will be the last chance I get to see the male form at its finest."

Ashley pretends feigns mock hurt. But grabs Stella into a playful hug. "Are you insinuating that my form in all its glory isn't enough to keep you from missing all those pecs and abs?"

Stella pulls Eden into a passionate kiss, which slightly takes Eden by surprise, so much so that she falls back a little and is now perched on the edge of Stella's desk, but manages to never break the kiss. Stella pulls back, satisfied when she see's Eden is struggling for breath, and the lust in her eyes.

"What do you think?" She finally answers Eden's question with a smirk. Ashley is still struggling to regain her composure, which makes Stella laugh.

"Right Shorty, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I've gotta get out to my scene."

Ashley shakes her head, and focuses back on what she came here to do. "Right, well I will see you later then. Don't have too much fun without me."

Stella just smiles, grabs one last kiss, then switches to work mode, and leaves Eden in her office while she goes to find Danny so they can head.

Ashley gets herself in gear; she heads straight to the DNA lab where she knows Adam will be, he isn't actually aware they're going anywhere yet. Ashley has already told Flack who is waiting downstairs for them in the car.

She strides into the lab, Adam smiles as soon, as she walks in. "Hey princess, you ready for tonight?"

Ashley rolls her eyes, but lets it slide for now. "I'm raring to go. How about you, you ready to get started now?"

She smirks, as she watches Adam look at his watch. "Dude it's like 2.30."

"Well we better get a move on then, I wanna back early so we can get the drinking show on the road."

Adam is still massively confused. "Where are we going?"

"Road trip." Ashley states simply. "Come on get ready."

"Erm I'm working." Adam says it like Ashley has just grown a second head, which makes her burst out laughing.

"Come on geek, I've cleared it with Mac, you've got the afternoon off, Flack is waiting for us in the car, I will explain on the way."

With that Ashley exits the lab, and Adam excitedly follows her.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Flack is driving, Ashley is in the front directing him, and Adam is in the back, but is scooted forward with his head between the two seats. Flack and Adam still have no idea where they're going, and Ashley is becoming acutely aware that they are getting more and more curious, and it seems Flack is going to be the one who lets his curiosity get the better of him first.

"So Ashley you gunna let us in on the secret, I mean I know we're heading north out of the city, but . . .?"

Flack looks over at Ashley, she becomes quite nervous, it's quite a long road trip, she hopes the guys understand.

"Erm, we're going to Rhode Island." She looks up to gauge their reaction, she can see Flack thinking it over in his head, she assumes he's trying to figure out how long it's going to take.

"We're heading to Providence, should be two hours max. I don't need to be there long; we should be back in Manhattan and out by 8."

Flack assumes there is a good reason for the trip, so he just smiles. "Whatever you want Ash. It's your day after all."

Ashley is relieved, it seems Adam isn't going to be as tactful as Flack. "Why are we going to Providence?"

Ashley and Flack just look at each other and laugh. This confuses Adam no end.

"Erm." Ashley doesn't really know how to explain it, because she doesn't really know why she wants to go herself, she just has this deep longing, this deep need to go before she gets married. She decides after several minutes of umming and arring, the best way to explain to the guys is to just let them know what is in Providence.

"You remember I told you guys about my girlfriend, Katy?" This immediately changes the atmosphere in the car; they both of course know this is Ashley's girlfriend who was murdered by that lunatic Ellis. She takes their silence as confirmation that they do in fact know who she's talking about.

"Well she was from Providence." Ashley swallows, Flack and Adam look at each other, they can tell their girl is hurting.

Ashley continues the best she can. "I guess I just kinda need to say Goodbye." She takes a deep breath; Adam reaches out from the back of the car, and grabs Ashley's shoulder.

"Then that's what we'll do princess." Ashley smiles, looking up at Adam.

"Thank you."

She loves them for being so understanding. It's no big deal to either Flack or Adam, and just like that, they relax into the rest of the journey.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

They arrived in Providence literally about 5 minutes ago, Ashley wasn't kidding when she said she wouldn't take long, she had directed them straight to the Cemetery. Flack and Adam where currently leaning against a wooden fence watch Ashley, make her way to a headstone. They are hanging pretty far back, not wanting to intrude. Both of their minds are buzzing with questions. Adam decides he needs to voice his first.

"So what do you think this means?" Adam looks over at Flack.

"I dunno, I don't think it means anything really." Flack is sure it really doesn't, he's praying it doesn't anyway. "Like Ashley said she just wants to say goodbye."

"I guess." Adam is still worried. "You don't think she's having second thoughts about getting married do you?"

"No." The speed at which Flack answers calms Adam. "I guess she just needs to close this chapter before starting her next one."

They both get lost in thought again and turn their focus back to Ashley, who it appears has arrived at her destination.

Ashley looks at the scene in front of her, The headstone is still as pristine as it was ten years ago when it was first laid, its black with Katy's name in gold lettering, and her picture in black and white, there are fresh flowers on the grave, Ashley smiles to herself, Katy's mom lays a fresh bunch every week without fail.

She sighs through her smile, now she's here she doesn't really know, what to do. She lowers herself onto the grave and sits leaning against the headstone, and decides the best thing to do is just to talk.

"You know, I thought when I got here I'd know exactly what to say." She takes a deep breath; she knows she isn't going to get a response. She leans her head to her right, the marble cools her temple.

"I'm sorry it's been so long, but I've been busy the last year or so. That's kinda what I'm here about. I moved to New York like I always said I would."

Ashley smiles at the memory, time to get serious. "I met someone. I think you'd really like her."

She can feel the tears stinging the backs of her eyeballs. "The thing is we're getting married in a few days, and the closer it's gotten to the ceremony, the more and more I've been thinking about you."

The tears are now spilling freely. "I can't help but think that we'd have already been married by now given the chance. And we would have been so happy."

Ashley has to compose herself. "But, I know I'm meant to be with her. And the thought, made me glad . . ." She can't stop the sob that escapes. "It made me glad that we didn't get the chance, so I got to meet her. And I hate myself for that."

Ashley again has to take numerous deep breaths. "Please don't think that, that means that what we had, wasn't special, or that I don't still love you and think about you every day, because I do. Every single day. But she's . . ." Ashley struggles to find the word; she decides simplicity is the way forward. "She's the one."

A cool fresh burst of wind, suddenly rushes over Ashley taking her breath away, she can't explain it, but she instantly feels better.

"I know you would want me to move and be happy, but I just feel so guilty."

"You've no need to feel guilty Eden."

Ashley is startled by the voice, she quickly looks up and see's Mrs Peterson, Katy's Mum.

"Mrs Peterson. How long have you been here?" Ashley is frantically trying to wipe the tears away from her eyes and face.

"Long enough. So you're getting married?" Mrs Peterson smiles down at Eden, which seems to make her realise she's still sitting on the floor; she gets to her feet, and looks at the older lady rather sheepishly.

"Yeah, I didn't really know how to tell you." She can't bring herself to look her in the eyes so just looks down at her own feet.

"Eden Ashley, when are you going to let go of the guilt. It's been ten years. You said it yourself; Katy would have wanted you to be happy. I'm sure she's smiling down on you now."

Eden thinks back to the gust of wind and smiles. She doesn't really believe in stuff like that, but she finds comfort in the thought.

"Thank you." Ashley can feel the tears starting to refill her eyes.

"No thank you, you made my daughter the happiest she had ever been. Your wife to be is a very lucky woman."

"I'm the lucky one."

Mrs Peterson knows Eden isn't just talking about her new bride. "Have you got time to grab a drink, we could catch up?"

This brings Ashley back into the real world. "I haven't actually; I have to head back to New York. Those guys over there." She gestures towards Adam and Flack. "They're waiting for me; I promised them I wouldn't be long."

Ashley is genuinely disappointed that she can't stay longer. She has a sudden thought. "Why don't you come to the wedding? It's this Saturday in the City, can you make it?"

Mrs Peterson laughs at the enthusiasm in Eden's voice. "I would love too."

Ashley pulls Mrs Peterson in for a hug. "That's excellent."

She pulls back from the hug and looks over at Flack and Adam who are patiently waiting, albeit with confused looks on their faces.

"I better get going, but I will call you tomorrow with all the details for Saturday."

"See you then Eden."

Ashley starts to make her way back to the guys, and Mrs Peterson starts to gather the flowers up from her daughters' grave ready to replace them.

When she reaches them, its apparent Ashley has been crying. She just wants to get back to New York and get a drink; she doesn't really feel like explaining to the guys what just happened.

"You ready to go?" She doesn't wait for an answer; she just heads for the car. Flack and Adam look at each other worried, then turn and follow Ashley into the car.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Its 8pm and Stella has just arrived at the first bar, with Lindsay, Mac and Hawkes are waiting for them, Eden's grandmother decided to stay at home, and 'leave the drinking to the kids.' Stella still has no idea what to expect, she's hoping for something relatively quiet, she's having nightmares about the evening turning into some sort of Hangover movie episode, although she's more worried that Eden's night may turn out that way. She hasn't seen Eden since earlier in the lab; apparently her road trip lasted a little longer than expected. She had just had a call from her though telling her she was back in Manhattan. Which has relaxed Stella no end, she's ready to have a great time now.

Lindsay has already made her dress up like a proper 'hen', she has 'L' plates and a vale and all sorts of things hanging off her now she's beginning to wonder why she took so much time getting ready. She's definitely going to need to be drunk to get through the evening in this outfit.

Mac pulls Stella out of her thoughts, by striding over to the table with a huge bottle of champagne.

"I thought this would be just the thing to get us started." He dispenses the glasses to the other three and then proceeds to fill them. Finally he raises his glass. The three friends mirror his action, as he begins to speak.

"Here's to a wonderful evening, to Stella's last night out as a single woman." This makes Stella giggle a little. "And to the lifetime of happiness I'm sure she's going to enjoy with Eden."

"Here here." Lindsay pipes in. "Here's to making Stella's last night of freedom, one she'll never forget!"

"Wow you guys make it sound like I'm going to prison." She smiles as she polishes off her glass, which is then quickly refilled by Mac.

"Not at all, I'm sure you and Miss Ashley will have a fantastic life together, but some of the things I've got planned for tonight, you definitely won't be able to do when you're married." Lindsay says it with a glint in her eye which slightly worries Stella, but oh well, you only get married once.

"Well here's to an unforgettable evening." Stella raises her glass again and the others follow suit.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is not too far away from where Stella is enjoying her evening, she just about to cross the threshold of the first bar, she's never been here before so she doesn't know what to expect. It looks a little dark and dingy if she's completely honest. The three guys go in first. Ashley follows close behind and cannot believe her eyes. She just looks around, and shakes her head.

"How very original fella's."

She doesn't really know why she's surprised, wall to wall women, in not many clothes, walking around with drinks trays, and hanging off of poles, they are most definitely in a strip club.

"You're welcome." Flack grins at Ashley. Adam has very swiftly made his way to the bar and now returns with a tray with four huge shot glasses on. He passes one to everyone, in a scene very reminiscent of the one at Stella's bash; Adam raises his glass into the air, closely followed by Flack, Danny and Ashley.

"Here's to our little girl, who's finally growing up." This causes an outbreak of childish grins throughout.

"Seriously though. Here's to Ashley, I hope your marriage is long and successful. And I really hope Stella still lets you hang out with us." There's a glint in Adam's eyes as he gets the last part in. He quickly downs his shot, and the others follow suit.

Ashley shakes her head as the alcohol takes its toll on her. Sambuca, not the greatest taste in the world.

"I think the outcome of this night; will have a greater impact on whether Stella's lets us hang out than the marriage." Ashley smiles at the guys.

The causes Flack to laugh. "Waitress." He gets the attention of one of the scantily clad women. "We'd like another round of shots and a private booth please."

Flack wriggles his eyebrows and looks over at Ashley, who again shakes her head. Flack continues leering at the waitress, who in fairness seems to be lapping it up.

"You see my girl Ashley over here is getting married, so we want the full works."

This causes the waitress to furrow her brows in confusion, as she looks her up and down, this amuses Ashley no end. "You're getting married, and you come here on your bachelorette party, with a group of guys?"

"Yep." Ashley just innocently smiles at the waitress, who still looks absolutely dumbfounded. The rest of the guys are having as much fun as Ashley is with this.

"I don't get it?" The waitress looks at the other three for confirmation, they all instantly look anywhere except back at the waitress, at the floor at the ceiling, anywhere.

Ashley decides to take pity on the waitress. "I'm getting married to a woman."

The penny drops for the waitress. "Oooooooooooooooohh." She proceeds to look Ashley up and down again, this time in an extremely different way, Ashley feels like a piece of meat.

"Well say no more gorgeous, follow me guys."

The waitress walks off and the four of them make to follow, Danny and Flack apparently more eager than Ashley and Adam. Adam whispers into Ashley's ear as they are making their way to the private booth.

"You have got to let me know how you get women to look at you like that."

Adam's face is completely serious, which makes Ashley giggle. "I dunno Adam, you've either got it or you haven't."

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella is drunk, she has had a great night but she is most definitely drunk. Luckily for her, Lindsay is just as drunk, and Mac and Hawkes aren't far behind. The evening has been excellent so far, no mishaps, no getting tied to a lamppost or other such things, she is secretly hoping that Ashley can say the same about her evening. Stella is currently in a bar not too far from work, and as a result they have been joined by a few more people from the lab, but other than that it's fairly quiet, Lindsay is getting giddier and giddier.

"What are you planning?" Stella looks at Lindsay through narrowed eyes.

"Moi?" Lindsay gives Stella a look of mock horror before she proceeds to burst into a fit of giggles.

All of a sudden music starts blasting through the sound system; it takes Stella by surprise and makes her jump a little. Lindsay it appears is still unable to control her laughter. Stella is confused, although she becomes less so when a 'police officer' comes striding towards her.

"Stella Bonasera?" The 'police man' pushes Stella into a nearby chair as he speaks. Stella has apparently lost her voice, so just nods her head to indicate she is in fact Stella Bonasera.

"I've gotta take you downtown." He draws out the word downtown, which makes Stella blush a little. "Someone's been a naughty girl."

Lindsay whoops with delight. Stella just looks over at her shaking her head. "A stripper? Really?"

Lindsay again through laughter manages, "Come on Stel, it wouldn't be right without one."

Stella cringes at the thought of what's about to happen, but without further ado the 'officer' breaks into his routine.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After numerous lap dances and even more shots, Ashley has had enough of the strip bar, Flack is just settling the bill then they are heading to meet up with the other party. It appears Danny is more than ready to leave as he pushes past Ashley and Adam at break neck speed.

Curious they both quickly follow him outside, closely followed by Flack, when they catch up with Danny they are all highly amused by what they see. Danny apparently can't handle his drink he is currently losing the contents of his stomach down an alley.

Flack and Adam can't contain their delight. "Oh dear Danny boy." Flack can't help but mock, this is great, he's gunna be able to tease Danny with this for years. "Out drunk by a girl huh?"

Danny pulls his sorry self up to eye level apparently finished. "Aw come on man, you know I don't get out much, since the baby."

Flack just laughs and shakes his head. "Ashley are you taking note, this is what happens when you get married."

"Come on guys; let's get to the next place." Ashley is desperate to see Stella. She hopes she's not too mad about all the strippers.

It only takes them a few minutes to reach their destination; Danny is still looking a little green around the gills.

"I think maybe you should stick to water in the next place buddy." Adam smiles, Danny looks as though the thought of another drink is turning his stomach. They enter the bar, the first thing Ashley notices is the music, and it's very loud for this time of week. The second thing she notices is that she needn't have been worried about the strippers. Judging by the man's state of undress, Stella is coming towards the end of her own little show.

Amongst the feeling of wishing the ground would swallow her up, Stella can feel eyes on her. She looks up and see's Eden looking at her, smirking. A look of panic hits Stella's face, which amuses Ashley; she's grins back at Stella, hopefully conveying that she isn't in the slightest bit bothered by the semi naked man.

Flack who currently has a look of disgust on his face, looks at Ashley, "Well I liked our strippers way better."

"Me too."

"Bar?"

"Lead the way."

They head over to the bar and continue where they left off from, ordering and downing numerous shots before heading over to join the party with Lindsay, Mac and Hawkes. The group all exchange hugs and kisses. Flack can't help but to continue to make fun of Danny.

"Hey Dan, it looks like even the Mrs. can hold her alcohol better than you."

This causes Ashley and Adam to burst out laughing, and Danny to look sheepish, he just buries his head into the crook of Lindsay's neck, and she provides the comfort he craves in the form of a hug, with a confused look on her face.

The music has stopped which causes everyone to turn back to the middle of the dance floor where Stella is currently rising from the chair, looking a little relieved. She gives the now completely naked man a kiss on the cheek before quickly making her way over to the group. She immediately makes a bee line for Eden, and grabs her into a hug.

"His body's got nothing on yours baby."

This is Ashley's first clue that Stella is somewhere near as drunk as she is. She can't help the massive smile that springs onto her face at Stella's words.

"Hey you." Ashley leans in and kisses Stella. "I think the Thursday night idea was a splendid one."

"I know what you mean. I am drunk." Stella states the obvious.

"No." Ashley can't help the sarcasm, and it earns her a little slap on the shoulder from Stella.

"Right guys, I have us a table, time for some drinking games." Flack shouts and starts to round them all up.

"Awesome idea Don." Lindsay is excited.

"Yeah, you sure your husband is going to be up for it?" They glimpse across to Danny, who to be fair to him looks a lot better than he did earlier.

"Bring it on." It seems the sickness has pulled Danny round and he's ready for round two.

"That's fighting talk Danny. I like it." Flack states has he's sitting down at the table closely followed by the rest of the group.

"Okay, so since our two favourite ladies are getting married and its only right that married couples should have no secrets, I thought we could play a truthful game." Flack is loving this; he's hoping everyone will reveal lots of juicy secrets.

"Are you guys all familiar with the 'I have never' game?" The rest of the group groans.

"Come on Flack, we're not 15." Flack looks at Ashley like she's just grown another head.

"Something to hide Miss Ashley?" Flack challenges.

"Absolutely not."

"Okay then, for those not familiar with the rules, we take it in turn to say out loud something we have never done, and if anyone in the group has done it, they have to down their drink." Flack is looking more and, more pleased with himself, Ashley is frantically racking her brains for any questions that will embarrass Flack; she is prepared to go to battle and beat him at his own game.

"I will go first." Flack proudly announces.

"I have never had 4 lap dances in one night." He's looking at Ashley the whole time, with a wicked grin on his face. She smirks at him, she is definitely gunna get him back for this one, she looks sheepishly over at Stella, and stands and downs her drink, which flack quickly refills. Stella bursts out laughing at the look on Eden's face; she doesn't feel so guilty about Eden walking in on her lap dance now.

Revenge is going to be sweet. "My turn now right." She grins evilly at Flack, the smile immediately drops from Flack's face, he hasn't thought this game through. He tries to slide back down into his chair.

"You'll probably save yourself some time if you're standing to be honest mate."

This is one of the things Adam loves most about Ashley, she can take the banter, but she doesn't half give it back. He watches what's unfolding in front of him with a huge sense of glee. Flack smirks, he's kinda worried, him Ashley and Adam have had some pretty interesting nights out in the past, he gulps down and awaits his fate.

"I have never had sex with someone over twenty years older than me."

The whole table looks at Flack; he is going to kill her. He downs his shot, and refills his own glass.

"Well played." He smirks at Ashley.

"Gross you slept with an old lady, when?" Lindsay wants to know all the gory details, her latest statement causes the entire group to burst into fits of laughter, Flack can feel his cheeks starting to turn red.

"Hey, hey, hey, that's not part of the game, no explanations required. Adam you're up next."

And that was it, the game continued well into the night, most of the questions where designed to get Stella and Ashley exceptionally drunk. But they had all had a great night. Ashley's last thought before falling into an intoxicated slumber was that she was not looking forward to the morning, and the guaranteed hangover.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The morning was horrendous. Stella and Ashley could barely move they were so hung over, but they had too after all they're getting married in the morning. That thought sets the butterflies whirling in Stella's stomach again. Its currently the night before the wedding, about 9pm, Stella is at Mac's she decided she did want to be traditional after all, and spend the night apart from Eden, so she's staying here with Mac, Lindsay and Lucy will be arriving first thing to help her get ready. Eden is at their apartment with Adam, Flack and her Grandmother, the former three were still dying, with Audrey looking after them, Stella smiles at the memory of them all lounged on each other on the couch, feeling sorry for themselves.

"I made you a hot chocolate." The sound of Mac's voice breaks her from her thoughts. She moves over to the couch and sits opposite Mac, and gratefully accepts the steaming hot mug from him.

"Thanks." She begins to blow on the mug, trying to make it an acceptable temperature to drink. Mac watches intently. He loves this woman, deeply, like the sister he never had. He still can't quite believe that she's getting married in the morning, and he gets to give her away.

"So are you nervous?" Mac smiles over at Stella.

She looks up from her mug and contemplates the question. "Yeah. A little more excited though. I can't wait to be married."

Mac smiles then something suddenly occurs to him. "What are you doing about names? Are you gunna take each other's names?"

"Well, we talked about it, but professionally it makes sense to keep our own names, it would be a nightmare if there was two Detective Bonasera's or two Detective Ashley's, and I don't even wanna get into any double barrelled nonsense, can you imagine two detective Bonasera-Ashley's or Ashley-Bonasera's."

They both laugh at the thought. Stella continues. "So for now we will keep our own names, but I think if we have a family, I would want us all to have the same surname, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

This strikes Mac. "Wow, you think about stuff like that?"

"Well yeah. Mac I intend on spending the rest of my life with this woman." Stella smiles.

Mac was so focused on the actual wedding, he'd not thought past that, he not thought about the marriage and the future they would have together.

"I honestly can't tell you how happy I am for you Stella. If anyone deserves to be happy it's definitely you. And as much as I love Ashley, and there is no doubt in my mind that she's the one for you. Its gunna be strange to watch you stand up there and marry another woman."

This hits Stella a little, mainly because she can't quite believe it herself. If there's one person in the world she trusts more than anything then its Mac, she knows she can talk to him about anything and he won't judge.

"Am I crazy?" Stella looks at Mac, he looks confused, surely Stella isn't having second thoughts? Stella can tell Mac is questioning her question, so she decides to elaborate.

"I mean 18 months ago if you'd have told me I'd be marrying a woman, I'd have thought you were out of your mind crazy."

Mac suddenly understands, Stella is panicking, quite normal for the night before a wedding, he remembers his own panic, the night before his wedding, she just needs gently calming down.

"18 months ago, you didn't know Eden."

Stella's heart almost bursts at Mac's sentence. Eden is the love of her life. It's as simple as that, Mac continues.

"You Stella Bonasera are having pre wedding jitters, it's perfectly normal. But you just have to ignore them. Eden is perfect for you. I can't imagine you marrying anyone else, and if you told me that you were gunna be marrying some guy tomorrow, I would think you were out of your mind crazy."

Stella feels a sudden wave of emotion, and has to swallow to stop the tears. She grabs Mac and pulls him into a hug. "Thank you."

Mac can hear the emotion in Stella's voice and just holds her tightly. Stella manages to compose herself in the hug. She pulls back and smiles.

"Right I better get to bed and try and get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"Good Night Stella."

Mac watches as she heads to his guest room. He decides he should probably hit the sack himself. It is indeed a huge day tomorrow.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has had the worst night's sleep ever. Not only nerves for the wedding, but she has become accustomed to sharing her bed with Stella, it was weird her not being there. Her stomach is doing somersaults. She decides to head to the kitchen to try and get something to settle her stomach and calm her nerves, this is way worse than the hangover yesterday.

She heads out of her bedroom, straight into the front room, where she is greeted by three sets of eyes all looking at her expectantly.

"Morning Princess." Adam smiles. "Ready to get married?"

Ashley's stomach freaks out, her hand immediately goes up to her mouth, and she starts retching, she runs straight to the kitchen sink, as it the nearest acceptable place, and proceeds to spew her guts. Lovely.

Audrey Flack and Adam are immediately over.

"What did I say?" Adam is flabbergasted.

Audrey who has been rubbing Eden's back since she arrived in the kitchen, looks up and tuts at Adam. "The poor girl is nervous as hell."

Ashley lifts her head from the sink, and turns round to face the three of them, she has tears streaming down her face due to all the retching, but a whole new set appear. "What if she doesn't show up?"

Flack and Adam look at each other, they have never really seen Ashley this upset, seems she's a real girl after all. Not just one of the guys. They are immediately by her side.

"Well of course she's gunna show up sweetie." Flack puts on his most comforting voice.

Audrey shakes her head, "Right go into living room with the boys, I'll make you some nice tea, to settle your stomach, and Eden darling, stop being so stupid. You've got a wedding to get ready for."

Well there was the metaphorical slap round the face Ashley needed trust her grandmother to provide it for her. She takes a deep breath starts to calm herself.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has arrived at the venue, the way it has been planned is for her to arrive first, and walk down the aisle, then she would wait for Stella to do the same, which is why her main concern at the moment is Stella not showing up, she knows it's completely irrational, well she hopes it is at least, but the thought of being stood up in that hall with all those people in there. Not worth thinking about.

"You holding up there?" Flack is concerned; he can tell Ashley is lost in her thoughts, and starting to panic again.

"Yeah I just can't wait to get in there and get this over with."

Adam smiles, he still can't believe how beautiful she looks, she has the most beautiful off white gown, and her hair is pulled up at the top then flowing down her shoulders, which are bear as the dress is strapless. And she is holding a beautiful bouquet of lilies, her favourite flowers. He decides now is as good a time as any, to share his thoughts, might help calm her.

"Ashley you really do look the most beautiful." She looks up at Adam and can see his eyes glistening, which in turn chokes her up.

"Thanks Adam."

At that moment Father Ballas comes through the main double doors out into the lobby where they have been standing.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're all ready. Mrs Harbridge, I will escort you down the aisle now, as soon as you three hear the music that's your queue okay?"

He doesn't really give them a chance to answer he just flashes a reassuring smile at Ashley and then takes Audrey's arm and leads her back the way he's just come from. Ashley takes yet another deep breath, closes her eyes and tries to swallow the sick feeling.

Flack links her arm, and Adam her other arm which make Ashley open her eyes and look at the two of them, she is greeted with loving smiles from both, which serves to calm her slightly.

"Ready short stuff?" Flack looks at her expectantly she can't formulate any words, so she just nods her head. The music starts.

"Well that's us princess." Adam leans down and places a kiss on Ashley's cheek, Flack does the same on the other cheek and opens the double doors, and the three of them stride through. Ashley plasters a nervous smile on her face as she scans the room, she sees a sea of faces some she recognise and some she doesn't, the closer she gets to the front the more faces she recognises, namely Danny and Hawkes who she smiles at, Hawkes waves, and Danny smiles as he takes a quick photo. Then right at the front she sees her grandmother, who looks extremely happy, she's already crying, this nearly breaks Ashley but somehow she keeps the tears at bay.

She finally reaches the head of the room, where Father Ballas is waiting. She smiles at him as she turns to face the room, Adam and Flack stand to her left and turn and face the room, they start to feel a little nervous with all these sets of eyes, on them.

After what seems like an eternity, the music starts playing again; Ashley immediately looks up at the double doors, mentally willing them to open. Eventually they do Mac strides through first and holds the door open, he looks amazing, he's dressed in his full officer uniform, Ashley holds her breath, waiting for Stella to appear, after a few seconds she does, Relief is Ashley's first emotion, then she is just stunned by how amazing she looks.

Stella strides into the room, closely followed by Lindsay and Lucy wearing matching bridesmaids dresses. She links arms with Mac once she is though the door and they proceed to walk down the aisle. Stella see's Eden waiting for her, and she is immediately mesmerised. She can't take her eyes off of her.

Their eyes remained locked on each other the whole way down the aisle, until Stella reaches Eden. Mac replicates Flack and Adam by giving Stella a kiss on the cheek, and then reaching over to do the same to Eden, he mouths 'good luck' at them both then moves to Stella's side, Lindsay repeats the action then stands next to Mac, true to form for Lindsay there are tears rolling down her cheeks already.

Finally Stella turns to face Eden, she looks beautiful, Stella can feel the tears forming in her own eyes, and Ashley instantly sees this and twin tears start to form in her eyes, she looks down at Stella's dress, and with a voice heavy with emotion, she says "You look the most beautiful. . ." that's all she could manage, she grabs Stella's hand and squeezes it, a solo tear escapes and rolls down Stella's cheek, Ashley instantly lifts her hand up to Stella's face and wipes it away with her thumb.

"I hope those are happy tears?" This causes Stella to let out something which can only be described as half laughter half sob. She is frantically nodding her head at Eden but realises the ability to speak is going to be quite important very soon, so she try her best to formulate a sentence.

"Yes, happy. Very happy. The most happy." Ashley smiles, he heart currently bursting with joy, if there's one thing she's sure of, it's that a few happy tears of her own will have been spilled by the end of this.

"Ladies, are you ready to get started?" They are brought out of their own little world, by Father Ballas.

They break eye contact for the first time and look at the priest, they both nod eager for him to continue.

The next few minutes are a blur. Both Stella and Ashley are aware that father Ballas is speaking, but they have no idea what he's saying; they are just holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. Its only when Eden's name is mentioned that they both suddenly realise that they should probably listen.

"Okay Eden, repeat after me, 'I Eden Alexa Ashley takes you Stella Bonasera, for my wife. . .'"

Ashley takes a deep breath and smiles at Stella. "I Eden Alexa Ashley, take you Stella Bonasera, for my wife. . ."

"'To have, and to hold, from this day forward. . .'"

"To have and to hold from this day forward. . ."

"'For better, for worse, for richer for poorer. . .'"

"For better for worse, for richer for poorer . . ."

"'In sickness and in health until death do us part.'"

"In sickness and in health, until death us do part."

She smiles at Stella, as she finishes, Father Ballas then gets Stella to repeat the exact same words. Ashley is at breaking point emotionally, she looks over at her grandmother whilst Stella is reciting her vows, and the immense look of pride on her face, and the amount of tears on her cheeks, tips Ashley over the edge, a tear spills over and is closely followed by another one. Stella had seen the interaction between grandmother and granddaughter whilst she was speaking; luckily she had just finished her vows, when her own tears spilt over.

Father Ballas continues with a smile. "Okay it's now time to do the exchange of rings."

Ashley swings round to Adam, who quickly passes her the ring, he states quietly. "She I told you I wouldn't lose it." He winks and quickly says "You're doing great princess." She smiles and wipes the tears from her face.

Stella has grabbed the ring she will give to Ashley from Mac; she turns back round to face a smiling Eden. The level of her love for this woman seems to be on the up today, she honestly can't believe she momentarily questioned this yesterday. What would she do without her?

"Okay Eden, you're first."

Ashley nods at Father Ballas, and grabs Stella's left hand, she place the ring half way onto her finger, then looks her directly in the eyes.

"This ring is a token of my love. I marry you with this ring, with all that I have and all that I am." Ashley is extremely glad she picked a short vow for this part. She pushes the ring all the way onto Stella's finger, and exhales in relief that she didn't mess up.

Stella realises it's her turn now; she replicates what Eden did with the ring, and holds it onto her left ring finger. She takes a deep breath; this is going to be difficult with the amount of love currently running through her body.

"I give you this ring to wear, with love and joy. . ." Stella's first wobble, her voice cracks, Eden squeezes Stella's hand she smiles back at her, that's all she needs to get through the next few minutes.

"As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my wife this day and forevermore."

The smile on Ashley's face has just about doubled in size. It appears the majority of the congregation is now also in tears, leading the way is Lindsay. Even Mac, Flack and Adam seem to have gotten caught up in the moment.

Father Ballas continues to wrap up the ceremony.

"Because Eden Alexa Ashley and Stella Bonasera have desired each other in marriage, and have witnessed this before our gathering, affirming their acceptance of the responsibilities of such a union, and have pledged their love and faith to each other, sealing their vows in the giving and receiving of rings, I by the virtue of the authority invested in me by the State of New York declare you to be wed. Congratulations. You may now seal your vows with a kiss."

Stella is smiling like a kid on Christmas morning, and the same level of joy is being emitted from Eden's smile. Stella places her hands on either side of Eden's face and pulls her towards her. There kiss is slow, but filled with all the emotion of the day, and all the love that radiates between them, they both feel yet more tears.

The congregation lets out a massive cheer, which causes both women to smile into their kiss, and lean their foreheads against each other. They finally part and look out over all the smiling face, and yet another cheer rings out, as everybody rises to their feet clapping.

Ashley looks over at Stella, still holding her hand. "Shall we?"

Stella just nods and the make there way into the main body of the room. They start to head back down the aisle hugging and kissing what seems like a million people along the way.

Ashley and Stella are both awash with relief, and are now relaxing a little. They can't wait to celebrate with their closest friends and family. One thing's for sure, this afternoon is going to be one hell of a party.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**OKAY GUYS WELL DONE FOR MAKING IT TO THE END! HOPE IT WASNT TOO BAD FOR YOU. REMEMBER REVIEW! WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHOULD I KEEP GOING ANY SUGGESTS AS TO WHERE THE STORY SHOULD HEAD NEXT, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ANY IDEAS?**

**AS ALWAYS TWEET ME AT Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	18. Chapter 18

**OKAY GUYS HERE IT IS, AS USUAL SORRY ITS TAKEN A WHILE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK IT SHOULD CONTINUE.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Immediately after they exited the ceremony, the wedding party stayed and posed for the official pictures. In the grounds of the old hall and the church, it really was a beautiful scenic place. Stella was so unbelievably happy that the photos would capture not only her new life and her new found happiness, but also the nostalgia of her Greek heritage. She cannot wait to see them.

Everybody is now at the Reception, its being held at the New York Palace hotel. It turned out Audrey was very well connected in this part of the world, and had managed to call in a favour to get Eden and Stella such a beautiful venue at such short notice.

The main hall in the hotel is simply beautiful. Ashley and Stella are sat at the head of the room, looking out over all their guests, They are joined at their head table, by all of their best friends who had official roles in the wedding, Mac, Adam, Flack, Lindsay, and of course Ashley's Grandmother Audrey.

The day has passed in a blur for Ashley, she still feels very overwhelmed by the whole experience, even now it's like everything is happening around her. The guests are just coming to the end of eating their meals, Ashley is remotely aware of this, and the fact that the speeches are next up on the agenda.

Stella glances over to Eden, the smile hasn't moved from her face all day, she can tell Eden is still somewhat is a daze, she grabs her hand on her lap, Eden slowly turns and looks at Stella, confused, Stella's smile grows even larger, she looks adorable.

"Everything okay Shorty?"

Eden swallows her mouth is dry. "Yeah." She manages to get the word, out then looks up at Stella, who is wearing the most amazing smile, it goes all the way up into her eyes, this seems to pull Ashley out of her haze, and she replicates the smile.

"I guess I just still can't believe all this has happened." She exhales, and feels the emotion racking her body. "I am the luckiest person alive."

Stella leans over a kisses Eden. "Not possible, that's me." She states simply, Ashley smiles again and leans in and takes Stella's lips with her own, they both get lost in the moment, lost in the kiss.

That is until they hear the distinct sound of metal on glass, and harsh grunt of someone clearing their throat. They break the kiss and look up to see Flack on his feet, holding his glass in one hand and a knife in the other, grinning down at the two ladies. He obviously ready to give his speech.

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, for those of you that don't know me, I'm Don, and I'm best man number one. I just wanted to say a few words. I hope everyone is enjoying the day so far, I think I speak for everyone when I say it's been a pretty emotional day. I mean even the cake is in tiers."

Stella burst's out laughing, Ashley just rolls her eyes and smiles over at Adam, who looks kinda nervous, he's up next after all.

Flack continues, "I think you will all agree with me that, Stella and Eden are both looking stunningly beautiful today."

This gets a round of applause and a few cheers from the room. Flack waits for the noise to stop and then continues.

"As I said previously, I have the honour of being one of Eden's best men today. And it truly is an honour. I have known Eden for a little over a year now, in fact I've known Stella a lot longer, but one thing I know for sure, is that these two belong together."

He looks down at the two of them and smiles, pride is actually emitting from him.

"Now I'm not really one for public speaking, so I'm gunna keep this short and sweet. I just wanna say best of luck to both of you; I am absolutely delighted for you, and hope you have a long and successful marriage. And Eden, thank you again, it really has been a great honour to be your best man, you're like family to me, I love you."

Eden is taken aback, she really was expecting Flack's speech to be full of jokes and ribbing, but she can see his eyes glistening with tears, a lump forms in her throat, as she mouths the words 'I love you too.'

"Okay well it gives me immense pleasure and relief, to ask you all to stand and raise your glasses to Eden and Stella."

Everybody stands and toasts the new couple, Flack moves over and takes it in turn to hug and kiss Eden and Stella. Adam apprehensively rises from his seat; he looks over to Ashley who gives him a reassuring smile.

He copies Flack to get the attention of the room, by tapping his glass with a knife, it works well, and suddenly all eyes are on him. He can feel the sweat forming on his brow. He nervously clears his throat, here goes nothing.

"Hi, my name is Adam; I'm best man number two." He smiles out nervously at the crowd. "First of all I'd like to congratulate Flack on a magnificent speech. I always knew it would be hard to follow, and I was right, I could hardly follow a word of it."

This causes the entire room to laugh, and Ashley in particular who smirks at Flack, who pretends to be a little wounded, the room's reaction to Adam's little joke, calms him no end, he feels much more confident now.

"I know its custom to stand up here and make fun of Ashley with me being her best man and all, and say things like she's a really lucky girl to have gotten someone like Stella. Which is all true by the way." Adam laughs and looks at Stella.

"But the truth is that Stella is really lucky to have found Eden." Stella nods at Adam.

"We all are. Like Flack said, we've only known Ashley for a year or so. But it's been one of the most enriching years of my life. And I know that these two are the real deal, and I for one can't wait to watch them grow as a couple and share in their future."

Adam is getting emotional now; he takes a breath to steady himself. Ashley really is very overwhelmed again, she was prepared for banter, not this, this is touching her heart, Stella knows how much these two mean to her wife, she can tell just how much their speeches are affecting Eden, she grabs her hand again and squeezes it. Adam continues.

"Like Flack I'm not really good with word's so I will leave it there. But I just wanna thank you all for coming, and helping make this day as special as it's been, so far. So again if you would all like to raise your glasses to Stella and Eden."

For the second time in a few minutes the whole room rises to its feet and raises their glasses. Adam sits back down quickly relieved that, that is over. Ashley and Stella just chuckle at him then just smile at each other gazing into each other's eyes.

Stella suddenly feels the need to address the crowd, just to thank them all herself for making her big day so amazing so far. She rises from her seat, Ashley looks a little confused, the rest of the room seems to have noticed she has risen from her seat, and she has their full attention. No need for the glass.

"I just wanted to say a few words; I know it's not really customary for the bride to. But I guess there's nothing really traditional about this wedding."

Stella chuckles and the rest of the room follows suit. Ashley just looks up with immense pride.

"I just want to say thank you to you all, for being here and sharing in our special day, however unconventional it may seem to you all, you're all here, and that means more to me than you'll ever know."

"I wanna thank Mac, for giving me away; he's the nearest thing I've had to a family these past ten years. He truly is the most amazing man I have ever met, and it means everything to me that he was the one who passed me over to my new family."

Stella grabs and holds Eden's hand and smiles.

"And finally my biggest thank you goes to the love of my life, my new wife Eden."

That lump in Ashley's throat from earlier comes back with a vengeance.

"Thank you for putting up with me, and always being there for me, and loving me. I love you, with all my heart, and if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that, that will never change. I must be the luckiest woman on earth, and I am absolutely sure we are going to have an amazing life together."

Ashley's tears have started again, she is furiously starting to try and mop them up with a napkin, thank god she went for the water proof mascara.

Stella is just about managing to hold it together, but really needs to wrap this up quickly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this toast is for my gorgeous, loving wife. To Eden."

Stella raises her glass, and everybody follows suit, she leans down and kisses Eden, before turning back to the room. "Let's get this party started."

This is greeted with cheers, as the music starts to play.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley and Stella have been mingling and chatting with guests for over an hour now, Stella is currently chatting away with some people from NYPD, Ashley doesn't really know who they are, she's grabs a seat next to her grandmother.

Audrey looks at Eden as she sits, her eyes still transfixed on Stella. Audrey chuckles, which makes Ashley tear her eyes away from her new bride, and look at her grandmother, puzzled.

"What's so funny?" Ashley quizzes.

"You can't take your eyes off of her." Audrey looks over at Stella, Ashley follows her gaze, and knows exactly what she's referring to.

"Can you blame me?" Ashley raises her eyebrows at her grandmother as she asks the question.

"No. She is simply radiant today." Audrey answers simply. "The two of you are going to be extremely happy."

"We are, aren't we? " Ashley still feels like she has to pinch herself to make sure this is all actually happening.

Audrey smiles again, she knows she won't be around forever, she is extremely satisfied now that when she does eventually make her way to the place in the sky, that her beloved granddaughter will be extremely well looked after. She can tell it's been an emotionally draining afternoon for Eden, so she decides to change the subject. Stella has just made her way over to an older gentleman, around her own age she guessed.

Seeing that Eden had gone back to be transfixed by Stella, she felt it safe to ask the next question.

"Who's that stud with Stella?"

Ashley had chosen that precise moment to take a small swig of her champagne, which she proceeds to nearly choke on. She looks at her grandmother; with such an expression of disgust it makes Audrey burst out laughing.

"Stud? Really grandmother." She shakes her head.

"Its Gabe by the way, he set us up with the old hall as a venue, Stella's known him forever."

Audrey pulls herself up from her chair. "Is that so, well I better go and thank him personally."

Ashley just giggles and shakes her head, as she watches her grandmother head over to her unsuspecting victim. Stella passes Audrey on her way over to Eden; she smiles at her and notices she looks like a woman on a mission.

When Stella reaches Eden's table, she lowers herself onto the chair just vacated by Audrey, and grabs Eden hands again.

"What's your grandmother up too?"

"I think she's taken a liking to Gabe, do you think we should warn him?" Ashley is only half joking.

Stella smiles. "You know what let them have their fun."

Ashley just nods, she remembers that she needs to talk to Stella about the road trip, mainly because Mrs. Henderson is here at the wedding, and she is going to have to introduce them soon.

"So I need to talk to you." Straight to the point. Stella would be slightly worried if it wasn't for the beautiful smile Eden currently has on her face.

"Okay." Stella says tentatively. "About anything in particular?"

"The road trip I went on."

Stella had been very curious about this, but she knew when not to push Eden, and she knew she would eventually tell her, in her own time; it appears that time has arrived.

"Okay." Stella motions for her to continue.

"I went to Providence." Eden had been looking at their entwined fingers as she began to speak, she looks up at Stella once she has spoken, to see if Stella realises the significance of her words. It appears she does.

"Katy's home town." Stella can't help the pang of jealously she feels, and Ashley immediately sees it flash on her face, and feels bad. She squeezes Stella's hand, causing her to look her in the eye. She has to explain herself fully.

"I have been suffering, the most intense guilt recently, since we got engaged really."

Stella feels for Eden. "Shorty you have nothing to feel guilty about. . ." Ashley stops her before she goes any further.

"Let me finish." Stella nods for her to continue. "I don't feel guilty because I'm moving on; Katy would have wanted me to be happy. I feel guilty about the thoughts I had, if she were still alive."

This confuses Stella no end, Ashley again can see this right away, she needs to explain herself better.

"If Katy was still alive, the two of us would probably be married by now, I might never have met you. And that thought made me sadder than anything else."

Ashley had again reverted to looking down at her hands; she looks up at Stella to see if she understands the gravity of what she's saying. Stella does, and her heart breaks when she sees the tears forming in Eden's eyes. Ashley needs to voice it.

"For a split second, it made me glad that she wasn't around anymore." The tears spill over again. Stella pulls her into a hug.

"What kind of person does that make me?" Ashley muffles this out into the crook of Stella's neck.

"Oh Shorty, you can't keep doing this to yourself. You loved Katy very much, I know that, she will always be a big part of your life, and that thought you had, anyone in the same situation may have had the same thought, and it doesn't mean you're a terrible person. It means you're human."

Ashley pulls back, wiping the tears from her face for about the billionth time today. "Anyway, I felt like I had to go see, her to explain myself."

"Did it help?" Stella smiles.

"Yeah it did." Ashley does genuinely feel like a weight has been lifted. "I bumped into Mrs Peterson at the cemetery, and invited her to the wedding. I will introduce you later."

"I'll look forward to it."

Stella stroke Eden's hair. Happy.

**XXXXXXXXX **

The evening is in full swing; Stella and Eden have just had their official first dance, and are still entwined with each other on the dance floor. Their first dance had been to Etta James 'At Last.' It was perfect.

Ashley has relaxed a lot as the evening has gone on, the emotional haze has well and truly lifted and now she's just having a fantastic time. Stella is currently in the crook of her neck as they are swaying to the music. She is lost in thought, just taking in the enormity of the day, and the happiness she feels.

Ashley peers over Stella's shoulder and chuckles at the sight before her, she gently shakes Stella.

"Hey Stel."

Stella is pulled from her reverie, by Eden, she pulls her head out of the crook of her neck, regretfully, and looks up to see Eden's face glowing with mischief, she has such a delightful smile on her face. Stella can't help but reciprocate.

"Look." Ashley nods over to the source of her amusement. Stella follows her gesture and her smile widens.

Audrey and Gabe, dancing to the music, but looking much more wrapped up in each other than the song that's playing. She thinks they look adorable.

"Wow, your grandmother is a minx." Stella turns back to Eden and the grin grows even wider.

Ashley just shakes her head. "She's a nightmare more like; I hope Gabe over there isn't trying to crack on to my grandmother."

Stella laughs. "Gabe is a man of the cloth, I'll have you know, there's only one person trying to crack on to the other over there."

Ashley smiles at Stella's playful defence of her mentor. "Yeah well, we like a challenge in this family."

Now it's Stella's turn to shake her head. Something, or rather someone catches Ashley's eye, without a second thought she grabs Stella's hand firmly.

"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet."

Ashley pulls Stella over to the side of the dance floor, Stella has an idea of who she's about to be introduced to, which is confirmed when they reach their destination. Ashley feels nervous a lot more nervous than she should.

"Hi." Ashley smiles.

"Hey Eden."

Ashley looks at Stella, who is looking rather expectantly. "This is Stella Bonasera. My wife." This causes the woman to laugh. This relaxes Ashley a little.

"Stella, this is Barb Peterson." Barb smiles at Stella.

"Pleased to meet you Mrs Peterson. Eden's told me so much about you."

Mrs Peterson grabs Stella's outstretched hand and shakes it heartily. "Congratulations Stella, you've bagged yourself quite a woman here."

Ashley breath catches in her throat, those words from Mrs Peterson, mean the world to her. Stella can instantly tell, that Eden's emotions have returned tenfold.

"I know. Thank you." Stella is sincere, and Mrs Peterson is convinced that she will look after this amazing young woman, and that's really the only reason she came here today.

"You two should be really proud; it really was a beautiful ceremony."

"I'm just really grateful you could make it today, it really did mean the world to me." Ashley chokes a little as she says the words, and grabs out and touches, Mrs Peterson's arm. She is also feeling pretty emotional, she can't help but think this is what her own daughter's wedding might have been like, she grabs Eden's arm on hers and swiftly pulls her into a hug. She whispers into Eden's ear.

"Katy will be so happy for you today; it's obvious how much you love each other."

Ashley can't bring herself to speak; she just pulls back from Mrs Peterson and nods her head and smiles, tears yet again threatening to spill. Mrs Peterson herself is on the verge of losing her composure, so she decides to make a swift exit.

"Well Stella, it really was a pleasure to meet you, but I have to head back to Providence now. You two be sure to stay in touch."

"We will." Ashley quickly regains the ability to speak. Stella nods her head in confirmation that she wholeheartedly agrees with Eden's statement.

Mrs Peterson quickly hugs Eden and then Stella, and the excuses herself. Stella just pulls her new wife into a huge hug and kisses the top of her head.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella has stepped out of the main hall for a second, the party is still in full swing, she needs a few seconds to compose her thoughts, what a day it's been. Perfect.

"Hey, there she is." Stella looks up and is greeted by Mac's smiling face. His eyes have that familiar sparkle.

"Hey."

"Some day huh?" He reaches and puts his arm around Stella as he speaks.

"Yeah, best day of my life." Stella looks Mac firmly in the eyes, he knows she means it. He chuckles.

"And to think you were having second thoughts yesterday." He shakes his head at the thought, Stella smiles at how stupid she had been to ever question this, even if it was only for a millisecond.

Unfortunately, Ashley emerged from the bathroom, and out into the hallway just as Mac was speaking, her heart sinks.

But not as much as Stella's does when she looks up and see's the hurt expression on Eden's face. Mac immediately feels a tension descend, and when he looks up he instantly knows why, he cannot believe how much he has just but his foot in his mouth, but he senses there's nothing he can say to make it better, so he excuses himself.

Stella feels awkward she hates herself for ever having doubts. "I am so sorry Shorty."

After the initial shock at Mac's words, Ashley quickly processes the information, and realises that it may not be as bad as it sounds, but she needs clarification and fast. She grabs Stella's hand.

"Real doubts or wedding jitters?" Ashley looks Stella in the eyes. Stella is taken aback, if things where the other way around, she would have lost the plot. Eden actually seems like she'd gunna be quite understanding.

"Wedding jitters." She answers immediately and without question.

Ashley smiles at the level of nervousness in Stella's expression. She leans in and kisses Stella.

"Hey relax; I'd be worried if you didn't have jitters."

Stella exhales pure relief. Ashley speaks again. "Do you love me?" she looks Stella full in the eyes as she asks. Stella is quite taken aback, her first thought is, what a ridiculous question.

"Of course I do, with all my heart. You know that."

Ashley smiles, that's the point she was trying to make, she does know this, so there was need for Stella to look quite so guilty.

"Good and I love you. So I guess we're okay." Stella clicks on to what Eden is getting at, not only is she the most understanding girlfriend, sorry wife, but she's actually trying to make Stella feel better, surely this should be the other way around?

"Right I've gotta go spend some time with my boys, I've hardly seen them since the aisle, and I'm already getting jokes that I'm whipped."

This makes Stella laugh, "Okay Shorty I'll come find you in a while."

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley caught up with Flack and Adam, and they are currently standing at the bar. Propping it up you could say.

"So come on Ashley, Weddings are supposed to be great places to pick up women, gimme the lowdown. Who's available?"

Ashley raises her eyebrows, but doesn't get a chance to speak, Adam butts in.

"Dude this is a Lesbian wedding."

Ashley slightly offended by this comment. "Hey that only means the brides are Lesbians, Stella and I hardly have an abundance Gay friends."

She continues to answer Flack's question. "You know you probably know more people at this wedding than I do."

At this point Flack actually catches sight of a girl he knows from work. "Right Adam, care to make thing interesting."

Adam is intrigued. "I'm listening."

Flack gestures over to the girl he's just spotted. "Me versus you, winner is the guy who gets the girl. You in?"

Ashley feels like she at least has to pretend to be disgusted, what with her being a woman and all. "Are you guys really, gunna bet on a girl? You know there will only be one outcome."

Flack's bravado kicks is as usual. "Yeah, a win for me."

This stirs Adam; he's feeling a little confident. "Yeah well I guess we'll see."

Ashley is taken aback; Adam must be a little buzzed from the alcohol. Flack is delighted.

"Right the rules are, there are no rules, the guy who gets the farthest with the girl wins, Ashley can be the judge." Flack is actually rubbing his hands together.

"Ashley gets to judge what?"

This causes all three heads to snap round at the sound of Stella's voice. All with equally guilty looking expressions on their faces. Ashley is the first to speak.

"You really don't wanna know."

Adam's new found confidence is in full force. "I'm just about to teach Flack here a lesson on how to get the ladies."

This causes Flack to laugh out loud. "Go for it big man, I'll even let you go first."

Stella immediately realises what's going on from Flacks turn of phrase. "Let me get this straight, you too are going to compete against each other to see which of you can get into that poor unsuspecting girl, first?"

Flack, pulls a face, which immediately screams you've just hit the nail of the head. "Pretty much yeah."

Stella just looks at Eden and rolls her eyes. "Right well it's getting pretty late guys, so I'm gunna steal my wife back."

Both Flack and Adam are both totally uninterested in what Stella is saying as they are currently stalking out there pray.

Stella smirks at Eden, an evil idea forming in her mind. "So we're off to the honeymoon suite."

This catches a little more of the guy's attention, but still doesn't fully get them. Stella grabs Eden hand, and starts to make her way out of the venue, as she passes the two guys, still salivating over the chosen woman, she leans in.

"Oh and just to let you know, for betting purposes. . . Eden's on a sure thing."

Stella confidently strides away, pulling Eden with her. Ashley just smirks at the two guys, who are now totally focused on Stella; she wiggles her eyebrows, and then quickly follows Stella out of the room. If possible she loves her even more.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**JUST A QUICK REMINDER TO REVIEW! LOL. ALSO FIND ME ON TWITTER (AT) Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

**RIGHT GUYS, HERE IT FINALY IS. BIT OF A TWIST IN THIS ONE NOT SURE IT WILL BE EVERYONES CUP OF TEA, BUT AS ALWAYS I WELCOME ALL FEEDBACK. SO MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.**

**OH, AND ITS A BIT LONG! SORRY ABOUT THAT.**

Today is Ashley and Stella's first day back at work since the wedding. They had a small break in the Hamptons, just for a few days, Mac has promised that as soon as he can allow it, he will give them at least a week off so they can have a real honeymoon.

They weren't bothered by the lack of an immediate honeymoon, they have had the most incredible time away just the two of them, they hired a house on the beach, and just spent the time immersed in each other.

And even now being back at work they still can't tear the smiles from their faces, they are loving married life so much so far. Little did they realise the trauma that was waiting for them just around the corner.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Amelia Ashley is back in New York, it looks different somehow, but then again everything does these days. She has a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, nervous, anxious, butterflies, they're not feelings she would usually associate with her daughter, usually she would be happy or excited, that she was about to deliver some news that would destroy Eden, but my how things have changed now.

She's waiting outside of the lab building expecting that her daughter will be out soon, and she's not disappointed, she strides out of the main door, with a man, Amelia assumes this must be another crime scene investigator, but she doesn't recognise him, Eden is smiling as she walks in her direction. Amelia smiles nervously as her daughter looks directly at her.

Ashley is heading out to her latest assignment with Danny in tow. Nothing is going to ruin her mood today, her face immediately drops when she sees her mother in front of her, at first she thinks it's her eyes playing tricks on her, at least she hopes it is. As she gets closer she realises no such luck, it is unmistakably her. The only thing that makes her doubt that it might actually be her mother is the awkward smile currently on her face, one that is definitely not going to be reciprocated by Ashley.

Ashley has no intention of stopping or acknowledging her mother, she braces herself to just walk straight past her. Amelia senses that this is what's going to happen, and she can hardly blame Eden for it. She starts to speak.

"Eden, I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but. . ."

Ashley is not going to let her, mother ruin her mood. "Not Interested."

She holds her hand up to reaffirm her words, and just gestures to Danny to follow her into the SUV. Which he does rather obediently after picking up on the tension. He smiles wryly at Amelia, not really knowing who she is, and just follows Ashley into the car.

Well Amelia guessed that would be the reaction she got. Oh well, onto the next, she heads to the door that Eden just excited, to make her way up to the lab.

Ashley pulls her seatbelt on, Danny still feels pretty awkward, and it shows, Ashley just explains as simply as she can.

"That was my mother." She looks a Danny for a second, and then quickly looks away, at the steering wheel.

Danny of course has heard many stories about Ashley's mother, and her reaction is fully explained in an instant, Ashley is obviously finding it difficult so Danny quickly moves on.

"Right lets hit the scene then."

Ashley smiles at Danny happy he has swiftly changed the subject. She revs the engine and they head off.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The knock on Stella's office door startles her slightly, she is catching up on some paper work, she looks up and see's that a sheepish looking Amelia has let herself into her office. Amelia decided this was best, if she had waited for an invitation she have been in the corridor forever.

If possible Stella looks even unhappier to see her than Eden did. One thing she notices straight away on Stella is the wedding ring and engagement ring on her left hand. They must have gotten married.

Stella notices Amelia fixating on the ring. She's not willing to discuss her and Eden's life with her.

"I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again?" Stella just looks up at Amelia stony faced.

Amelia can't help the next words that fall out of her mouth. "You got married." She smiles as she says it.

Stella can't quite put her finger on it, but something has definitely changed with this woman. Amelia has the sudden realisation that maybe Stella hasn't married her daughter, a thought which surprisingly makes her feel sick, she doesn't stop to think how this next sentence might sound.

"I assume to my daughter?"

Stella smiles and shakes her head, maybe she hasn't changed that much after all.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here?"

This snaps Amelia out of her thoughts about the wedding, she realises she didn't phrase her last question very well, and any chance she had of getting Stella to help her has quickly dissolved. Well she may as well ask, as she's here.

"I need to speak to Eden." She looks at Stella hopefully.

Again Stella keeps a poker face on the service, but underneath she is frantically trying to decipher exactly what is going on. One thing's for sure she certainly appears to have lost the streak of evil she had before.

"Eden isn't here."

"I know I bumped into her downstairs, she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Well then I guess you have your answer." Stella is in no mood to be stuck here talking to Amelia.

"I was hoping maybe you could talk to her for me?" She knows it's a long shot. Stella actually laughs out loud; this woman can't actually think she is going to help her get to Eden.

"No absolutely not, and if there's nothing else I have a lot of work to do."

Well that went as well as expected, Amelia just nods as she turns to leave, as she reaches the door, she turns back to Stella.

"I know what you must think of me Stella. But I promise you I'm not here to try and ruin her life." Solemnly she just exits the office, not really giving Stella a chance to respond, she sighs as she enters the corridor again, two down, one to go.

Stella leans back in her chair, her brain racing, she has no idea what's going on, but she's sure that if Amelia is involved, it won't be good, for Eden, or for her for that matter.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Mac had been processing evidence in the lab all morning for a case he and Hawkes were working on. He is now on route to his office to analyse the results, he looks up from the folder he currently has his head buried in, and sees the silhouette of someone sitting in the chair facing his desk, obviously waiting for him. He doesn't really recognise the outline, other than that's it's definitely a female, he enters his office intrigued.

The sound of the office door startles Amelia, the sick feeling from earlier returns to the pit of her stomach, this time not because she's scared that the person won't give her the time of day, but because she knows Mac definitely will.

Mac looks down at the woman, who reciprocates his eye contact, whilst smiling anxiously, this woman is unquestionably nervous. He recognises her instantly, even though he guesses it must be a least 30 years since he's seen her.

"Amelia Harbridge. I don't believe it."

Mac instantly drops the folder onto his desk, and pulls his old friend into a hug. Amelia immediately lets the emotion get to her, something she hasn't been used to in the past, she can feel the tears forming in her eyes, she is determined that they won't spill over. She hugs Mac back willingly, she feels safe in his arms, it takes her back to when she was 16.

Mac pulls back, and looks into Amelia's eyes, she looks tired. He moves round to his side of the desk, and takes a seat; Amelia does the same, the smile never leaving either of their faces.

"Wow." Mac is genuinely in shock, this woman was his first love back when they were kids, a whole lifetime ago, he is astonished that she is now here, in front of him in his office.

"To what do I owe this pleasure Ms Harbridge?"

This brings Amelia crashing back down to earth, and she remembers what she's here for.

"Actually I got married, so it's not Harbridge anymore." She looks up at Mac sheepishly, he just smiles.

"So what should I be addressing you as then? Mrs . . . ?" Mac still smiling waits for Amelia to confirm her name, he has no idea why Amelia looks so sheepish, surely she can't think he would be jealous by the fact she got married, she must have been 17 the last time he saw her.

"It's Ashley. Amelia Ashley." She looks down at her hands.

Of course Mac recognised the name instantly, he had heard many stories about Eden's mother, but he never put two and two together. The Amelia he knew and the Amelia described by Eden and Stella seem worlds apart.

Amelia chances looking up, she can tell Mac obviously knows who she is. She's guessing from his expression that Eden probably hasn't painted her in the greatest light. Fairly.

Mac's posture immediately changes, the Amelia he knew obviously doesn't exist anymore, he knows that from her behaviour, from the stories Eden has shared with him. He has no interest in being used by her as in pawn in one of her games to get to Ashley, he decides best to find out what she wants and get rid of her as soon as possible.

"Eden's mother." It's not a question, it's a statement of fact, he shakes the sorrow he feels, at the loss of his good friend, out of his head and concentrates on the task in hand.

"What can I do for you?"

His voice lacks the emotion it had a few seconds ago, he is pure business mode now. Amelia's heart sinks.

"I take it Eden has told you all about me." She smiles wryly.

Mac has no interest in small talk. "Your name has come up in the past."

"Then I completely understand your reaction . . ." Mac cuts her off.

"What I can't understand is what you're doing here? I hope you don't think you can involve me in some sordid game to upset Eden."

Amelia knows she can't just blurt out what she has to say, otherwise Mac will think it's exactly that, a game. She needs to explain, she can tell Mac is quickly losing patience with her, so she needs to do it quickly.

"Do you know how old my daughter is?" Mac just looks Confused; Amelia takes this as a sign to continue.

"She's 32 her next birthday." Mac still doesn't seem to grasp the significance, so Amelia ponders on.

"I was 17 when I gave birth to her."

This gets Mac's attention. He and Amelia had been high school sweethearts back in Chicago. They had gone to junior prom together. Unfortunately they complied to the stereotype, back seat of the car and everything. She can't be implying what he thinks' she's implying can she? He can't speak, but Amelia knows by his facial expression that the penny has dropped.

"Didn't you ever wonder why I disappeared?" As soon as her parents knew she was pregnant, they decided it was best to take her away from prying eyes, so she was home schooled, until she gave birth, and a month later the whole family relocated to England.

Mac of course did wonder at the time what had happened, he was heartbroken. He can't believe what he is hearing right now, and he certainly can't cope with it.

"Get out."

Amelia is taken aback by the venom in his voice, she felt certain that once she explained it, he would be a lot more understanding.

"Mac you understand what I'm saying here don't you? She's yours. She's your daughter."

Hearing her say the worlds out loud, just causes mass panic within Mac he can't comprehend it rationally right now, he needs to get his thoughts and his head together, but he needs to get rid of her immediately. He rises and moves around his desk, he grabs Amelia's arm forcefully, and drags her towards the door.

"I told you I won't be part of your silly little games, and this. I mean this is beyond a joke." He shakes his head as he pulls her into the corridor.

Amelia starts to protest loudly. "This isn't a game Mac." The raised voices start to catch the attention of people in the lab.

"Think about it Mac, really think about it and you'll know I'm not lying."

Stella hears the commotion from her office and is taken aback when she sees Mac physically, and quiet violently dragging Amelia towards the elevators, she moves as fast as she can towards them to find out what the hell is going on. She notices the Eden step off the elevator, of course she immediately sees the scene in front of her, but neither of the main protagonists appears to have noticed her.

"I told you to get out." Mac is shouting now, he releases Amelia's arm in more of a throwing actions towards the elevator. Eden is shocked, not that someone would dislike her mother, that she can completely understand, but for Mac to be displaying such emotion towards a woman he has never met is very surprising, she voices her confusion.

"What the hell is going on here?" Eden looks back and forth between Mac and Amelia. Mac freezes. Amelia smiles, now is her opportunity to get it out in the open.

She looks over at Mac and smirks. "Do you want to tell her? Or should I"

The panic again takes over Mac's being, Stella picks up immediately that he is acting very strangely. He knows there's no way of Eden not finding out now, but he meekly tries to fight against it.

"There's nothing to tell." He looks down at his feet. If Amelia's previous form is anything to go by, she would take immense pleasure in telling Eden what she had just told him.

Amelia waits a couple of seconds, giving Mac ample opportunity to tell Eden himself, when he just continues to stare at his feet, she sighs, well she's always the bad guy, why break character now.

"I was just telling Mac here that he's your father." Ashley can't believe what she's hearing, her mother has finally lost the plot, she starts to laugh, her mother has really surpassed herself this time. Stella eyes are fixated on Mac, she can't read his expression, but there is definitely something not right with him. This couldn't possibly be true.

Exasperated Ashley still in disbelief starts to talk. "Wow, this is low even for you. I mean do you really expect me to believe this?"

Amelia, now defensive just nods her head towards Mac. "Ask him."

Ashley looks over at Mac, he doesn't look up from the floor, which does worry her slightly, but there is not one part of her, which believes this could actually be true. She looks back to her mother.

"I don't need to ask him. The two of you have never even met before."

Amelia just looks over at Mac, he looks up first at Amelia then over to Ashley, the poor kid, she hasn't done anything wrong, she deserves to know the truth, thing is Mac isn't entirely sure what that is himself.

"Your mother and I went to school to together."

Confusion is Ashley's main issue right now, but she can't concentrate she has so many thoughts flying around her head. Stella's heart sinks, she knows everything is about to change for the two people she loves most in the world, whether or not the allegations are true.

Ashley needs answers; she needs so form of clarity. "But, I mean you never slept together right." She looks at Mac pleading. "Tell me you've never had sex with my mother."

"I can't." Mac can see the panic that has engulfed him since he heard the news take its hold on Eden. He feels helpless and powerless to stop it.

"Does the timeline fit?" Again her eyes are begging Mac to answer, but the truth is he doesn't know, his head has been spinning since he heard the news. Ashley is not satisfied with the lack of answer from Mac; she asks the same question again, this time with a raised voice, full of panic.

"Does the timeline fit?" The rise in the volume startles Mac. He can only be honest with her.

"I don't know."

Ashley can't take anymore, she feels sick, she needs to get away from all these people, she needs time by herself to think. She bolts, and heads straight for Stella's office, she doesn't even acknowledge that she passes Stella on the way, Stella's heart breaks when she sees the pain in her wife's face.

She is surprised when Amelia immediately follows Eden; she is about to protest, which Amelia obviously picks up on.

"I told you I need to speak to my daughter." She doesn't wait for Stella to respond, she just continues on her way to Stella's office, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is sitting at Stella's desk head in her hands, trying to stop the thoughts spinning long enough for her to get a grasp of what's just happened. No such luck. She hears the door to the office open, she lifts her head up, probably the last person she wanted to see right now. Her mother.

"Hear me out. Please." Amelia needs her daughter to let her explain. Luckily for her Ashley needs some answers so she's willing to listen to her. She nods at her to continue.

"Now I'm here I don't really know where to start." She chuckles nervously. Ashley just wants to know what the hell is going on, no room for sentiment.

"How about from the beginning." She doesn't allow any emotion onto her face. Amelia swallows all of a sudden her mouth is very dry.

"Ok." She takes a deep breath as she's about to start the story of her and Mac, the office door goes again, and Stella walks in. Both sets of eyes go to Stella, who can tell she has walked in on something, so she doesn't speak, just goes and stands behind Eden, arms crossed.

"Go on." Ashley urges her mother to continue.

"Well Mac, and I went to school together in Chicago, we were high school sweethearts." Amelia smiles at the memory, thinking back that was probably the happiest time of her life.

"We went to junior prom together. One thing lead to another, and that was that. We were kids Eden. Neither wanted what happened." This takes Ashley by surprise.

"Did Mac know you were pregnant?"

"No of course not, not until today. I just meant neither of us thought I would get pregnant, I guess we weren't really thinking at all."

Ashley still has about a million and one questions running around her head. "I don't understand, why did you tell me Kenneth Ashley was my father?"

Amelia exhales, truth is a lot of the decisions were taken away from her back then, she decides the best thing is to explain exactly what happened.

"So, when my mom found out I was pregnant, she pulled me out of school. It obviously wasn't as common back then to have a pregnant 16 year old. I was home schooled until you were born, then we decided to move over to England, all mom's family was over there so we thought there would be a bigger support network I guess."

Stella has listened intently all the way through, she still doesn't know whether to believe Amelia or not, but she can't shake the felling that something about her has changed dramatically. She gently places her hand on Eden's shoulder, Ashley immediately puts her own hand on top of it, and gains immediate comfort, she's glad she doesn't have to face this alone. She continues to listen to Amelia.

"We moved when you were about 4 weeks old, and I met Ken pretty much straight away, we hit it off, he was so in love with me, he said he would take you on as his own. We got married, changed your name as well. It was stupid."

"You can say that again." Ken had turned out to be a bum that was in and out of both of their lives for Ashley's entire childhood. He was a loser, a pathetic excuse for a man. Amelia of course agrees.

"But it was done. He was the only father you knew, and it seemed easier to keep it that way, especially after what happened with us."

Ashley feels instantly uncomfortable, her mother of course is referring to her coming out and all the repercussions that stemmed from it. Stella immediately feels Eden tense; she gently squeezes her shoulder to remind her that she's always her for her. There's something niggling away at Ashley in the back of her mind.

"Why now?"

This catches Amelia off guard. "What?"

Ashley reiterates her bewilderment, "Why now? I've worked here, with Mac, for coming close to two years, why all of a sudden now?"

Amelia of course still had the second part of her bombshell to drop, although she assumes Eden won't be half as bothered by this part.

"To be brutally honest, when I first heard you were working with Mac, I didn't care; I didn't think you deserved to know." She does actually feel ashamed, Ashley just shakes her head in disbelief, and tears begin forming in her eyes. Amelia looks up and can instantly tell she's upset.

"I'm aware of the kind of person I was back then Eden."

Ashley can't believe her ears, Stella is a lot calmer, she thinks they're both about to find out what's happen to Amelia, because there is no denying something has changed with her.

"Oh what and you're so different now?" Ashley can't stop the tears that are falling from her eyes, just a couple she hasn't completely lost it yet.

"Things are different Eden."

"How?" Ashley is desperate to know.

"I am so sorry for the way I've treated you all these years." She looks up at Eden, the look of shock on her face is understandable, tears are now freely falling from Amelia's eyes now too.

"I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a month ago. And I wanted to try and put right some of the wrongs I've done in my life."

This hits Ashley, right in the heart, regardless of all the things she's done, this woman is her mother, she would never wish her dead, but she is so full of anger right now, angry that it has taken something as bad as this to make her mother change, angry for all the thing she's ever done to her, angry for not being truthful about who her father was, and now irrationally angry at her for dying.

"How long?" Ashley is of course referring to how long Amelia has to live; she knows pancreatic cancer is one on the most aggressive fatal kinds.

Amelia full is full of sorrow. He daughter is still looking at her full of hatred, oh well at least she tried. "They told me I had a month to live, a month ago. So I guess I'm on borrowed time." Again Amelia's face wears a wry smile; if she didn't smile she would crumble.

Ashley rises from her seat, she needs to get away from her mother, she is still raging with anger, as she moves round the table, and passed her mother, she wants to hurt her as much as she is hurting right now.

"Yeah. Well good riddance." Ashley doesn't wait for a reaction; she just flies out of Stella's office.

Amelia guessed she should have expected that kind of reaction; she begins to sob, Stella, can't imagine what this woman, is going through, and although she can't bring herself to actually comfort her, she place her hand on her shoulder, causing Amelia to look up into her eyes.

"For what it's worth. For once, I think you've actually done the right thing."

Amelia knows this is the closest she is going to get to acceptance from Stella, she is eternally grateful. She manages to get a word out to Stella in between sobs;

"Thank You."

Ashley is heading to the main lab where she knows Adam will be, on the way she grabs her cell phone, and presses the speed dial for her grandmother. It rings a couple of times before Audrey answers.

"Kiddo, it's not like you to call at this time of day, is everything alright?"

Ashley is in no mood for pleasantries, the fact is that if any of what Amelia has said is true, then her beloved grandmother, has known all along, and has been lying to her, her entire life.

"Is it true?" That's all Ashley can muster through her rage and her tears.

Audrey immediately knows what she is talking about, since she found out that Eden had started working at the New York Crime lab, and that Mac Taylor was her boss, she had been expecting and dreading this call in equal measure. Of course it would eventually come out; she was actually surprised it had taken this long. She decides honesty is the best policy.

"Yes." She exhales loudly with her confession.

Ashley is woman with a mission, that was all she needed to know, she ends the call with her grandmother immediately, and strides into the lab, Adam is in there with Lindsay, it's obvious they were talking about her, as the conversation stopped as soon as she walked into the room.

Adam is clearly worried about his best friend. She looks awful. Ashley however still has the blinkers on, she wants to sort this out, then hit a bar and get disgustingly drunk.

"Adam I want you to do a DNA test." Straight to the point, the request takes Adam by surprise.

Ashley reinforces her wish. "You're the person I trust most to do this, will you do it?"

"Of course I will."

Ashley gets a testing kit from one of the drawers, pulls the swab out, and rubs it around the inside of her left cheek, she seals the sample and passes it to Adam.

"Thank You." She turns to leave. Adam who seems to be stuck in a daze suddenly wakes up and realises she is leaving.

"Hey Ash, where you going?"

"Maguire's." She doesn't wait for a response, she knows Adam would disapprove of her trying to drink her troubles away, but right now she just needed to be numb, to not feel anymore. She exits the main lab.

Adam, extremely worried pulls out his cell, and calls Flack. He explains what has happened, and asks him to hit Maguire's as soon as he can to make sure Ashley doesn't do anything too stupid. Flack of course drops everything and says he will be there as soon as possible.

Adam just looks at the DNA test kit in his hand, the sooner he gets Mac's sample the sooner he can get the results.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella approaches Mac's office, today has passed in a blur so far, she can't believe how the lives of her two favourite people have changed, and could change so much. She knows that she needs to be strong for both of them, Eden isn't around at the moment, Stella assumes she needs time alone, she has tried her cell phone with no luck, but she knows Eden will call her back when she's ready. So for now she would focus her attention on Mac.

She knocks on the door, Mac looks up and gestures for her to enter, she does and makes herself comfortable in the chair opposite Mac. She smiles at him and he mirrors, but she can see the strain on his face. She speaks first.

"Some day huh?" He smiles at this statement, understatement of the century.

"Yeah, well we should have some answers soon; Adam is doing a paternity test as we speak."

Stella wasn't aware of this; she has escorted Amelia out of the building, and then just sat in her office in disbelief for a while. Today's events have certainly shocked everyone.

"Did Eden give a sample?"

"Yeah it was her that asked Adam to do it. She's gone to Maguire's with Flack by the way."

This doesn't surprise Stella, but it does worry her, it seems that Eden's coping mechanism more often than not involves alcohol, which obviously isn't healthy, and something she will raise with her once all of this is over.

"How are you holding up?" She decides to focus on Mac for now.

"I don't know. I was in complete shock."

"And now?"

"Now I just keep going over it in my head, does the timeline fit, could this really be possible?"

"And?" Stella is intrigued.

"From what I recall, and remember we're talking about 32 years ago. It fits." He sighs.

"And how does that make you feel?" Stella is trying to gauge Mac's emotional state. He ponders the question, for a while, and then settles on his answer.

"Angry." He looks Stella in the eyes as he says it. "If she is my kid, and I've missed out on her whole life. I'll be devastated."

He exhales, trying to fight the emotion. "She's such a good kid Stella; you know that more than anyone."

Stella just nods she can tell Mac is close to losing it. She decides to try and lighten the mood.

"On the bright side, I could be your daughter in law." Mac smiles, and Stella is glad, it seems to have cheered him up momentarily.

"Yeah. Looks like I walked the wrong woman down the aisle." He laughs has he says it, Stella does too. But it's not long before the gravity of the situation hits him again, and within seconds the chuckles turn into heart wrenching sobs. Stella is quickly around the table, and pulls Mac into a hug. She can't recall ever seeing him cry, let alone seeing him sobbing his heart out like this, she can't help the tears that fall from her own eyes as she gently rocks him, and strokes his hair.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is currently sitting at the bar nursing a glass of scotch on the rocks, she just swirls the drink in the glass, she hasn't had a drop yet, she just had thoughts steamrollering through her mind. She always thought the fact that her and Mac were from Chicago was just something nice they had in common; never in a million years did she think this could ever have happened.

She swirls her glass again causing the ice to clink, every time she thinks about it, she is hit with another wave of emotion, she is so close to tears right now. She's guesses she's probably getting an insight to what Stella went through when she rolled up and turned her world upside down. Because that's what's happened here, she feels as though her entire world has spun on its axis.

Her overriding thought, the one she can't shake, and the one which is the most likely to reduce her to tears is, what if Mac really is her father? She knows without doubt he would have been fantastic, the best even, and the thought that she has missed out on over 31 years of that, is what's really killing her inside.

Flack enters Maguire's in quite a rush, he's panicking that Ashley will be wasted already. His nerves calm a little, when he sees her sitting at the bar, her glass relatively full. He just hopes that is the first one. He approaches her tentatively; he has absolutely no idea what's she going through right now, and no idea of her emotional state. He decides the gentle approach is best; he leans on his arms beside her at the bar. He exhales loudly then nods towards the glass.

"You sure that such a good idea?"

Ashley looks up into Flack's eyes, this is when he sees the enormity of the emotion she's feeling, she always gives herself away with her eyes. She shakes the emotion away, and states almost resignedly,

"Probably not. That's possibly why I haven't actually drunk any of it yet."

Flack smiles.

"You wanna talk about it?" He studies her face as he asks the question.

Ashley ponders it for a while, because truthfully, she does want to discuss it, but she's not sure she can hold it together enough right now, and the last thing she wants is to start sobbing in the middle of a the bar. She answers truthfully.

"I dunno. Maybe, I just don't think I'm ready right this second."

Flack isn't really ready to let it drop. "You know you couldn't ask for a better father than Mac?"

"I know. That's the worst part." She manages to swallow down the lump in her throat.

Flack immediately knows what she means. She's sad for what she might have missed out on. He decides to broach, what will be a particularly sore subject.

"What about your Mom?"

This really takes Ashley by surprise, of course she had been thinking about her mum in all this, but she never in a million years thought any of the guys would have given her a second thought. Her surprise is evident in her voice.

"What about her?" The high pitch in her voice makes Flack chuckle.

"Ash, I know what she's been like. I'm one of your best friends; I like to think I know more than most what she's put you through."

Ashley still isn't quite sure where he is going with this; she just fixates her quizzical stare on him, and gestures for him to continue.

"But I really don't think she's dropped this bombshell, to hurt you. I think she's done it because she knows this is her last chance to put things right."

Ashley takes on board what Flack has just said, and thinks about it, could he be right, could her mother really have changed that much? She supposes if something was going to open her eyes it would be the impending threat of death.

As she's pondering her thoughts, Flacks cell phone starts to ring. He checks the speed dial and answers immediately.

"Flack." He looks up at Ashley.

"Yeah I'm with her now." The expression on his face changes, Ashley can tell whatever is being said on the other end of the line cannot be good.

"Okay I'll let her know." With that he flips the cell shut and looks at Ashley his eyes full of concern.

Ashley is of course worried. "What is it?"

"It's your Mom." Flack exhales loudly.

Ashley is surprised by the nausea that begins to wrack her body, and the panic that she feels, she might not get her chance to talk to her, to talk this through. Flack continues.

"She's been rushed to Lennox Hill, it doesn't look good."

The relief Ashley feels at the realisation that her mother isn't dead is monumental. She knows she has to speak to her, and right away by the sounds of it. She spring s into action, and up off the bar stool, which takes Flack by surprise.

"I want to see her."

"I'll drive." Flack immediately heads to the door with Ashley following at lightning speed. They were in a real race against time.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley and Flack made it to the hospital in record time, she had called Stella on the way, she needed her right now. Of course she dropped everything and was currently on route to the hospital herself.

Ashley had just been shown to her mother's room by the nurse, she thanked the nurse who headed back to her station. Ashley takes a deep breath, composing herself, although she is still in danger of the tears spilling over. She pushes through door, and looks at her mother lying there, pale and weak. She looks kinda pathetic. Her eyes are open and her face seems to light up when she realises Eden is in the room. This makes Ashley think maybe she is genuine.

"I waited for you." The way she says this is weird, Ashley can't quite put her finger on why. Amelia knows in her mind that she meant she waited to die, so she could see her daughter one last time.

"Well here I am." Ashley can't quite let go of the bitterness she feels towards her mother. The tears really are in danger of spilling over. She moves to the side of the bed and sits down next to her mother, she looks down at the floor, she has never felt more like a child in her entire life.

Amelia smiles, of course she didn't expect Eden to come in and profess her love for her, but just the fact that she came at all make's Amelia burst with joy. She can't help the next words that tumble out of her mouth.

"My beautiful baby girl."

Ashley looks up, she can no longer keep the tears in, she struggles to breath, and she feels like the emotion has wrapped its hands around her throat. She struggles to keep it together.

"I want you to listen to me. To just let me talk and you just listen. Ok." Ashley just nods; it's all she can manage.

The door opens again, causing them both to look over. Stella walks in a little sheepish, they're obviously sharing a moment, but one look at Eden makes her realise she made the right decision coming in; she looks on the brink of emotional ruin.

Ashley turns and looks at Amelia urging her to go on. Stella stays at the end of the bed and just watches the scene that's unfolding in front of her. Amelia begins to speak.

"I want to apologise, for everything." The tears are now falling freely from her eyes now too.

"I have been such an idiot. When I found about. . ." Amelia struggles with how to word it. "Your lifestyle choices."

Ashley's eyes roll back into her head. This doesn't go unnoticed by Amelia. She reaches out and grabs her daughter's hand, which causes Ashley's head to shoot up.

"When I found out you were gay." Amelia rephrases, Ashley realises how hard that must have been for her, a fresh set of tears begins to spill.

"It was a shock. Something no parent really wants." Ashley's head drops again at this point. Amelia continues.

"But instead of riding the wave, and getting my head around it, like I should have, like how any mother would have, I let my damn stubbornness get in the way. I think I hit a certain point where my stupid pride wouldn't let me go back. No matter how much my heart was crying out for you."

Ashley is really sobbing right now. Stella's heart is breaking. It's at this point Amelia seems to realise that Stella is in the room with them. She looks over to her.

"Look after my girl Stella." Stella just nods the emotion too much for her, she moves closer to the two of them, and places her hand on Eden's shoulder, to comfort her.

Amelia uses her last piece of strength to reach out and grab her daughter's hand, for one last time. Again causing Ashley to meet her eyes.

"I am so sorry." Amelia falters a little obviously struggling to speak. She closes her eyes to muster up her last portion of strength, to get her last words out.

"I will never forgive myself for how I've treated you." This sentence took all of Amelia's energy, her eyes close, and she sinks back into her pillow.

Ashley knows it's now or never, she swallows down the lump of emotion in her throat, she reaches over and grabs her mum's hand, this time causing Amelia to open her eyes and meet her eye contact Ashley struggles through her tears and emotion, but manages to say what she wants.

"I forgive you."

Amelia smiles, so Ashley knows she has understood her. Amelia lets go, content that she has achieved all she came he for, she heads for sweet release.

Ashley watches as Amelia closes her eyes once more, but this time all the machines start to beep and Ashley knows that it's over. Stella immediately runs for the nurses' station. Ashley just places her hand on her mother's face, and strokes it gently. Tears still falling freely. She leans over kisses her mum on the forehead, just before her lips reach, she mouths "Thank you."

She pulls back and takes one last look at her, she looks so peaceful. Nurses start to pile in. Ashley just turns to Stella, and smiles.

"Let's get back to the lab."

Stella obediently follows Eden out of the chaos of the private room.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is now determined to get this mess sorted out one way or the other, she strides out of the elevator into the main building of the lab, her hand tightly gripping Stella's, who is really worried about her wife it seems she has tunnel vision at the moment, she recognises Eden's steely determination, it's the same she gets when she knows she's on a good lead on a case. Eden is focused on the outcome of the test; Stella is more concerned about the fallout from the results.

They stride into the main lab; it appears everyone is waiting for them, Adam, Lindsay, Danny, Hawkes, and most importantly now, Mac.

No words are spoken, Adam just grabs the two brown envelopes he has just put the results into, he hands one to Ashley and one to Mac, Adam is currently the only person who knows the results.

Eden looks at Mac, and just smiles nervously and nods. Mac instinctively knows that she just wants them to open the envelopes and get the results. He nods make and takes a deep breath.

The rest of the room holds its breath in anticipation as the rip open the envelopes, they take one final look at each other, before diverting their eyes to the results. The results which could change all of their lives forever . . .

**XXXXXXXXX**

**OKAY, SO YOUR THOUGHTS ARE NEEDED. WHAT DO YOU WANT THE RESULTS TO BE? ALL INPUT WILL BE CONSIDERED. I FELT THE STORY NEEDED A BIT OF SPICING UP! HA.**

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	20. Chapter 20

**SMALLER UPDATE THIS TIME. I'VE HAD A BIRTHDAY IN REAL LIFE! SO BEEN BUSY CELEBRATING THAT. ANYWAY LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THIN. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley just stands there, lets the words on the page wash over her. Lets them sink in. The rest of the room just stands and holds its breath. Except of course Mac, who having read the results from his own envelope, just looks over at Eden, transfixed, waiting for her reaction, before he dares contemplate his own.

The emotion of the moment takes over Ashley, she doesn't know how to react, how to process the information her brain has just received. She takes a deep breath, mainly because she feels like she forgot to breathe the last few seconds. She needs to escape, the pressure in the room is too much, and she can't see anything clearly anymore.

The only thing she knows she has to do, is give Mac some sort of reaction, it wouldn't be fair on him, just to bolt, and after all none of this has been his fault.

She looks up from the envelope, and looks directly into Mac's eyes, she can see the tears forming there, she suddenly realises her own tears are already spilling down her cheeks. She exhales again, and without thinking closes the space between her and Mac, and envelopes him into a hug. One which he readily accepts and responds to.

But within seconds the warmth of the hug is gone, Eden escapes his arms as quickly has she had arrived in them. He opens his eyes, he hadn't realised he had closed them and see's Eden's back, gliding towards the exit.

It was all Ashley could manage for Mac, she needs to get out, she needs air. As soon as she turns to leave she see's Stella's face, she is obviously confused, neither she or Mac have given any indication as to what the results are. Ashley can't stay, but she can't leave Stella wondering, she passes her the envelope she has just opened and rapidly exits the room.

Stella looks at Mac before she delves into the envelope, he can't speak, the tears now freely falling from his eyes, Lindsay has moved towards him and placed her hand on his arm, as a showing of comfort, it doesn't appear to have worked. Lindsay's eyes are full of worry and wonder, expressions which are replicated on the faces of Flack, Danny and Hawkes, Adam of course already knows the results, but feels it's not his place to reveal.

Stella swallows hard as she reads the paper. She can't believe it. She looks directly at Adam.

"Did you double check the results?"

"Doubled checked, tripled checked, quadruple checked." It's as much as Adam can muster the emotion in the room getting to him as much as anyone else.

Stella can feel the tears starting to form. She looks again at Mac, and instantly moves towards him. She pulls him into a hug, and he immediately buries his head into the crook of her neck, and continues to silently sob.

Stella looks over to the three remaining people in the room, who aren't currently in the know. She doesn't really know how to say it, so she just blurts it out.

"He is her father." The realisation hits her, and her own tears come thick and fast. She needs to find Eden.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley initially found herself on the roof of the lab, just looking out over New York City, gasping for air. Her hands firmly placed on the concrete wall in front of her, practically keeled over. She doesn't know how long she was standing there like that for. But she managed to regain her composure, the tears stopped and the ability to breathe returned. Unfortunately this was replaced by mass confusion.

She's not sure how she got here, but her legs have somehow managed it. She is currently sitting in the waiting room of the New York City morgue. She knows a few people who work here and has managed to pull a few strings, mainly down to the fact she still has a very tear stained face. She has often found a man usually doesn't like to deal with a crying woman.

She is broken from her thoughts by Sean; he gently taps her on the shoulder causing her to look up. Sean see's she is still a little teary so as gently as possible he states.

"The coroner has prepared everything and I can take you down to see the body now."

Ashley smiles, she can tell he is terrified she's going to burst into tears again. "Thank you."

She rises up and follows Sean, through a maze of dreary corridors; he stops by a huge green door and turns to Ashley.

"This is a private room; I can let you have 5 minutes."

"Thanks Sean. I really appreciate this."

"Anytime." Sean smiles and wanders back the way they have just walked. Ashley pushes the door open. Amelia is laid out on the slab in the middle of the room. Covered in a white sheet, it has already been pulled down to reveal her face. Ashley quickly sits in the chair that has been placed out for her, before her legs give way.

She tentatively reaches out and touches her mother. She's not as cold has she was expecting. She quickly pulls her hand back, and just looks at the floor. She takes a deep breath and just starts to talk, to get her feelings off her chest.

"This is just like you, to change the game and then disappear." She smiles as she says it and looks up at her mother.

"What am I going to do now hey?" Ashley just stares; she's not sure what she's expecting to happen.

"You know it would have been nice for you to tell me a little earlier, so you could actually answer some of my questions."

Ashley laughs. It seems to sink in at this point, that there is nothing that can be done, what's happened has happened, Ashley needs to stop dwelling on what could have been and start working towards a future, with her new family. She can't quite let go of the rage she feels inside, but can't bring herself to aim it at a dead woman. She leans over and kisses her on the cheek. She takes one last look at her mum and exits the room, in the knowledge that she has to move on, but still not entirely sure how to do this.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella is worried, for two reasons. Firstly she hasn't managed to track down Eden since she bolted out of the lab earlier. Secondly she hates that Eden's initial coping mechanism seems to be to run away. They're married, she should be able to talk to Stella first of all, she needs to realise that Stella is always going to be here for her no matter what, and she doesn't need to deal with her problems alone anymore.

Stella had spoken to Mac briefly, but the poor guy was in shock, he's currently just sitting in his office, trying his best to get his head around all of this. Which to be fair is pretty much what Stella is doing now. She looks up when she hears her door open, and smiles when she see's Eden walk in, but she can't help feeling a little mad at her for running away, again. She supposes she can leave this until later; there are more pressing issues at hand.

Eden looks a lot better than she did earlier. Stella decides to break the ice. "Hey."

Ashley smiles as she looks across at her beautiful wife, she knows no matter what happens she can get through this.

"Hey."

"How are you?" Stella knows in general this is a pretty rubbish question, but she also knows in these circumstances Eden will know she expects an actual answer.

Ashley does of course know this, and takes a deep breath. "Confused. Excited. But I guess my overriding emotion is still anger. I just don't know who to be angry at."

Stella reaches across her desk and grabs her hand. She can't begin to imagine what she is going through right now. She does seem to be over the initial shock though.

Ashley has been thinking on her way back from the morgue, and she needs to verbalise her thoughts.

"I want to change my name."

This takes Stella by surprise; it's the last thing she was expecting Eden to say. Her shock must be apparent to Eden, as she starts to explain herself immediately.

"I know we said we would wait a while, before we discussed taking each other's name. Wait until we have a family even."

Ashley takes a deep breath; the meaning of the world family is something that has changed a lot for her in the last few days. Stella still doesn't know what to say, Ashley continues.

"It doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

Stella panics, thinking she might mean family, she needs clarification. "What doesn't?"

Still looking into her wife's eyes, she explains herself. "Ashley. The name means nothing to me, nothing to my family. I have no link to it, whatsoever. I want to change my name to Bonasera. As soon as possible."

Stella feels a small burst of pride at Eden's words but knows deep down this is part of Eden running away again, and she also feels the need to point out one small problem to her wife.

"Eden sweetie. It's your name."

Ashley looks at Stella like she's an idiot, she is fully aware it's her name. Stella obviously sees the look and can't help but smile. She explains herself.

"I mean, it's your actual name, as in it's what people call you."

Ashley sighs, Stella is of course right, she hasn't thought this through properly, she sinks back into her chair. Stella suddenly has an idea.

"You can't get rid of Ashley, it does mean a lot to you, regardless of what you think right now. I do understand what you mean about it not really linking to your family."

Ashley immediately perks up. "Yeah, it has no links to anything, you're my family now, Bonasera is the only name that makes any sense to me."

"Let me finish." Ashley gently put into her place by her wife; she leans back in the chair again and waits for Stella to finish. Stella smiles at her compliance.

"We can make it mean something." This gets Ashley's interest, but after her last telling off she doesn't speak.

"We can make it mean everything to our family. I'll change my name to Ashley."

Ashley is taken aback. The tears that she thought were long gone come back with a vengeance. Stella moves round the desk and sits on the arm of Eden's chair, putting her arms around her and kissing her on the head. Ashley just looks up.

"You'd do that for me?" If possible the love for her wife has just increased.

"Yeah, like you say, we were gunna do it eventually anyway, and I just hate the thought of a doubled barred name, plus I kinda like Stella Ashley, it has a good ring to it."

Stella smiles down, it really isn't a big deal, and she'd already thought about it in the past, and already settled, that she would be the one to change her name; it just made the most sense. She has no problems in bringing it forward. If she's honest she really excited that they will share a surname. She's found she loves these little marriage things when they pop up, initially she used to smile every time she looked down at her wedding ring, or saw Eden wearing hers, Stella just loves being married.

"You are the most amazing woman." Ashley can barely get her words out.

Stella just leans forward and kisses her on the lips. "You have to do something for me now."

"Anything." Ashley means it too, Stella could ask her to do literally anything right now and she would do it.

"You have got to let go of this anger sweetie."

"I know. I'm trying." She nods her head as she speaks, Ashley really is trying, she knows it stupid to be mad, and it serves no purpose.

"You've gotta stop dwelling on what you've missed out on." They both know she is referring to what a wonderful father Mac would've been had he been given the chance. Stella continues.

"Think more about what you've gained. I mean you've gained a parent Eden."

Ashley lets the words wash over her, she suddenly realises something.

"You're wrong." Now it's Stella's turn to be taken aback. "I gained two."

Stella knows instantly that Eden is referring to the fact that Amelia finally came through for her in the end, and acted like the mother Ashley wishes she had, had all of her life.

Stella just kisses Eden on the head again. Ashley rises from the chair causing Stella to do the same.

"I feel bad." Stella is surprised by Eden's confession. Ashley sheepishly tries to explain herself.

"For Mac I mean. Usually in times of crises, you would be there for him. But I guess you kinda feel like in this instance you've gotta be here for me first."

"Well of course." Stella doesn't really know where she is going with this.

"I'm gunna be fine. How could I not be, married to someone like you." Ashley smiles at Stella, who can't help but grin like a Cheshire cat. Reduced to a school girl again. Ashley finishes what she wants to say.

"And I know no matter what, you're here for me. I get to go home with you. At the moment Mac has no one."

This is a sobering thought to Stella. "Go to him."

Stella looks at Eden. "He needs you as much as I do. More even. Go to him and make sure he's alright, and as soon as I'm ready I'll do the same. Were all family now. Even more so than before."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Ashley smiles. "With you fighting my corner, I'll be a lot better than okay."

She moves in and kisses Stella, soft and lingering on the lips. Stella smiles, and exits her office, heading straight for Macs.

Ashley shakes her head. What a day. She decides to go in search of Adam and Flack; no doubt they are worried about her too.

She steps out of Stella's office, and walks into the main hall of the lab. She is distracted by the elevator pinging. She looks up to see none other than Audrey Harbridge, her grandmother step off, bag in hand. Audrey see's Eden straight away, and walks straight over to her.

"I got the first plane over."

She looks at her granddaughter not really knowing what to expect. The main emotion of Ashley's day returns 100 fold. The Rage starts to build within her again.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS PLEASE DO REVIEW, WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, I ALWAYS APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS SO FAR.**

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	21. Chapter 21

**SORRY FOR THE SLOW UPDATE. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. THIS IS MORE OF A FILLER, TO GET TO RESOLUTION. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Stella gently knocks on Mac's office door, and steps through. He looks up from his hands which is where his head has been placed for some time now. He's happy to see Stella, he's a little worried Eden still hasn't approached him yet, although he assumes Stella might have an update in that respect.

Stella makes herself comfortable in the chair opposite Mac. She has a feeling she could be here for a while. Something she's quite excited about, her world has been moving so fast over the last 18 months it's been a while since she was able to just stop, and catch up with her favourite guy. Of course she knows what the main topic of conversation is going to be, but that's fine by her, Eden is one of her favourite subjects.

Mac is looking at Stella, who still hasn't spoken; she just has a hint of a really content smile on her face. She must catch herself in the moment as she suddenly realises that Mac is looking at her, now mirroring the smile that she is currently wearing. She decides she better speak.

"Hey. How you holding up?"

What a question, Mac really doesn't know how he's holding up, truth be told he's more worried about Eden, he needs to know how she feels before he can react to the situation. He decides honesty is the best policy with Stella.

"Truthfully. I don't know. How's Eden?" Mac is desperate to know.

"She's coming to terms with it."

Mac sighs and Stella can tell he is dying to see her. To speak to her. Truth be told he feels on edge, not sure what type of relationship Eden might want with him. I mean they are already pretty close. How much would she want that to change? He of course wants to learn everything about her; he has a thousand questions running through his mind. What was her first word? When did she first walk? What was the name of her first girlfriend? All the things a father should know the answers to.

Stella can tell Mac's mind is whirring, and she can recognize how frustrating this situation must be.

"Just give her time Mac. She'll come to you when she's ready; she's told me as much."

Mac looks up and smiles, the knowledge that Eden has at least spoken to Stella about it seems to calm him down a little. It's probably time he stopped thinking so much, it's starting to make his head hurt.

"So, how are you doing?"

Stella is taken slightly by surprise. "I'm good. I mean I feel like my head is going to explode worrying about my two favourite people. But honestly, I couldn't be happier. I mean we're actual official real family now Mac. Or should I call you dad?"

Stella smiles mischievously, which turns into a full blown grin when she sees the look of shock on Mac's face.

"Oh god, that makes me feel really old." He smiles.

"Hardly, you're barely old enough to be Eden's father, let alone mine." They continue to grin like idiots at each other. Mac has really calmed down a lot now. He loves Stella so much, within minutes of her coming to see him; he's feeling a million percent more positive about the future. He can't help but voice his feelings.

"This could be so amazing couldn't it?"

He looks into Stella's eyes, his own full of hope, Stella mirrors his stare, reaches over and grabs his hand.

"There's no could about it. This will be amazing."

Mac's heart fills with joy literally to bursting point. Stella can tell he's feeling pretty emotional again; she squeezes his hand and winks at him, before releasing it and collapsing back into her chair.

And that was it; they fell into comfortable conversation, and had the most amazing catch up. Both feeling extremely upbeat about the future.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is furious, but luckily in the back of her mind somewhere she has a little voice shouting at her, telling her to remember all of the things her grandmother has ever done for her in her life, and for the moment this seems to be keeping the lid on her anger. Well she hasn't exploded yet anyway. Yet.

Ashley has guided her Grandmother into the privacy of Stella's office, as she's still in with Mac. She just stands behind the desk arms folded. Audrey is sitting rather sheepishly in the guest chair opposite her granddaughter. She can tell Eden is furious. Obviously too angry to speak, Audrey it seems will have to break the ice. She decides to get straight to the point.

"Can you ever forgive me?"

This takes Ashley by surprise, and immediately softens her. She sighs, unfolds her arms and sits in Stella's chair. She looks her grandmother dead in the eyes, and hopes this conveys her disappointment. But ultimately deep down she knows she can't stay mad at her.

"Of course I'll forgive you." Audrey's face lights up in a smile, Ashley sees this, and needs to let her know that she's not quite there yet. "Eventually."

Audrey's face drops slightly; she knew it was never going to be that easy to regain her granddaughters trust. Ashley needs answers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Audrey can see the tears in Eden's eyes, and it breaks her heart. She knows it's the betrayal of trust that has hurt her the most.

Audrey exhales, she has come here to fully explain herself and that's what she's going to do.

"To be completely honest, it just seemed easier not to."

Ashley shakes her head in disbelief. "I need you to tell me everything. Mum told me it was your choice to move to England."

Audrey had suspected as much, that Amelia was behind this mess. She decides to leave that point for now and focus on giving Eden the answers she needs.

"Well we didn't really know what to do for the best, but the bigger support network was there."

"What about Mac, you didn't think he deserved to know he had a child?" Ashley can't help the venom in her voice.

Audrey just powers on through. "From what your mother told me, he was all set for joining the army, he wouldn't have been around anyway."

"What and you don't think he would have changed his plans if he'd have known?"

"Well knowing Mac as I do now, he probably would have, he'd have lost everything, his whole career."

This is certainly a sobering thought for Ashley, and she gets Audrey's point immediately, Mac would have lost a lot. She could never have expected him to do that, and if she's completely honest, she would have hated it if that's what had happened.

"So you thought it was okay for me to do without a father?"

"You know we couldn't believe our luck when your mother met Kenny, he seemed so perfect. He loved your mother, and despite what you might think he did genuinely love you too."

Ashley can't dispute this, he was a good dad in the early days, but that seemed to go downhill rapidly, to the point from about 8 years old onwards she barely saw him, in fact she could probably count the amount of times she's seen him since her eighth birthday on one hand. Audrey continues.

"By the time we realised our error, Mac was god knows where with the army. Me and your Grandpa tried our best to make it up to you."

"You more than made up for it." Eden's quick response makes Audrey feel immensely proud, she looks up at her granddaughter, for the first time in a while. Ashley immediately see's the tears forming in her grandmothers eyes, and she feels dreadful. But she needs more answers.

"When I came to New York, you knew Mac Taylor was going to be my boss. I know you, I know as soon as you heard the name, you would have checked to see if it was 'the' Mac Taylor. Why on earth didn't you tell me then?"

Audrey exhales, she doesn't really have an answer to this, she should really have told her. "I was scared something like this would happen." Audrey says this candidly with a wry smile. She continues.

"I couldn't believe it when I came to the wedding and he didn't recognise me, or my name. I thought I'd hit the jackpot. I just thought why bring it out after all these years. What would it achieve?" She exhales loudly. "I was being selfish, I'm sorry."

Ashley has been listening intently, she can hear Stella's voice telling to let go of the anger, and something seems to switch in her head, she has had so much drama in the last 18 months, it's been exhausting. She decides to let go.

"Apology accepted." She smiles at Audrey. Heart-warmingly.

"Just like that?" Audrey smiles, a little disbelieving.

"I don't wanna fight anymore. I don't wanna be mad anymore." Ashley just raises her eyebrows, honestly, and sits back in her chair.

Audrey is massively relieved. Now she has another line of enquiry running through her mind. She can't help but voice her quizzical thoughts.

"What I can't understand is why she's told you all of this now. More of her mind games I suspect."

Ashley obviously knows she is referring to Amelia, she immediately feels sick at this statement. She doesn't know. Then again how could she. The look of panic on her face must be apparent; Audrey picks up on it immediately.

"What's wrong?"

Ashley's mouth is dry; her brain is scrambling for the words to say, how on earth is she supposed to tell her grandmother that her daughter is dead. She swallows, which proves difficult, with a mouth like the Sahara. Audrey is still waiting patiently for an answer, although the anguish on Eden's face is starting to make her panic slightly.

"She's dead." Eden just blurts it out. "That's why she told me, she knew she was dying, and she wanted to make things right."

She studies her grandmother's face, utter shock. Audrey doesn't know what to think, a part of her hates Amelia for how she treated Eden, but of part of her knows that no matter what she was her daughter, her beautiful daughter, her only daughter. This thought hits her, she's gone. The tears come and they are uncontrollable.

Ashley can't bear to see her like this. She knows her grandmother is a compassionate woman, and an emotional woman, but never before has she ever seen her break down like this. It a shock her, so much so that her own tears start again, she is immediately round the desk and takes Audrey into her arms.

"I'm so sorry."

Audrey composes herself. "So she finally did something right hey?" She tries to put on a brave face through her tears, Ashley isn't buying it.

"I made my peace with her. You should do the same." Audrey nods her head. She needs to see her daughter.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley sent her grandmother to the morgue, she doesn't know why but the little chat she had with her mother helped her a great deal, and she certainly hopes it has the same effect on Audrey. Now Ashley is moving onto the next emotional encounter on her list, hopefully this will be the last one. Mac.

Stella is still in his office with him, and Ashley decides she'd kinda like Stella with her for moral support. Even now she has no idea what she's going to say to him, but she hopes inspiration will hit her once she gets to his office.

And here she is. She takes a deep breath; the butterflies in her stomach are going wild. She doesn't knock she just opens the door had heads right in.

Stella and Mac had been laughing and chatting, the door to the office swinging open, makes them both turn and look, Stella can't help but smile at her wife, proud that she's biting the bullet. Ashley returns her smile, then looks over at Mac, he looks as nervous as she feels.

"Hey" She decides to go in simple to break the ice. Her eyes never leave Mac, but she searches out Stella with her hand, grabbing Stella's hand as soon as she comes into contact with it. She perches herself on the edge of Stella's chair.

Mac tries to say 'hey' back, but the words barely form, and he ends up just sort of mouthing it.

Ashley really is struggling to find the words she wants to say, Stella can see this instantly and squeezes her hand as a show of support and comfort. Ashley knows she needs to come up with something soon, before the room becomes engulfed in tension.

"Look this has been a weird couple of days, and I'm not gunna pretend I've got my head round it fully yet."

She chances a look up at Mac; he nods for her to continue. The lump in his throat is the biggest it's been, he's terrified about what she might say next.

"I am gunna need time Mac, as I'm sure you will."

He still can't formulate any words, so Ashley continues.

"But the truth is, if ever I had the chance to handpick my own dad. I'd pick you."

That sends Mac over the edge, tears start spilling again, but he's got the biggest smile on his face. Ashley returns his smile, and, moves round the desk, tentatively she embraces him, and he gladly accepts. She pulls back, and smiles.

"I know we're pretty close already, but I would like us to work on a father, daughter relationship. If that's okay with you?"

Mac is so relieved at Eden's words. "Nothing would make me happier." These are the only words he can manage due to the emotion.

He just pulls her back into a hug, and saviours it. Stella has watched the exchange from the other side of the desk. She can't help herself, she strides over and joins into the hug, and both Eden and Mac move to welcome her in. They stay like this for a while, embracing, crying, but mostly smiling, grinning like idiots really. This new rather unconventional family.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Today has been the most draining day of Ashley's life, she's finally home, and is really looking forward to sleeping, if the thoughts stop circling around her brain for long enough. She's currently standing out on the balcony, something she's found herself doing a lot of over the last 18 months. Just looking out over the beautiful scenery in front of her. It sooths her. Always makes her feel better.

Stella strolls onto the balcony, and slips her arms around Eden from behind. She kisses her neck, and settles her chin on her wife's shoulder, taking in the amazing view for a second, before moving round and standing side by side with her. Eden looks tired.

"Why don't you go to bed Shorty?"

Ashley wiggles her eyebrows. "Well there's an offer I can't refuse."

Stella laughs out loud; Ashley can't help but smile at her beautiful wife. "I meant to sleep."

Ashley pulls her wife in for another hug, and states softly, "I know what you meant." She pulls back again.

"I'll go soon. Gotta wait for Grandma to get back anyway." Audrey had seen Amelia at the morgue, and called Ashley to say she was going for a walk, something she often did when she needed to clear her head. But it's getting kinda late, and its already dark out, Ashley knows she won't be able to settle until she's back.

Stella has other things on her mind, and decides she needs to discuss, as it's something that's been bothering her for a while now.

"You up for a chat?"

Ashley can tell from the expression on Stella's face that it must be serious, she just nods. Stella continues.

"We're married now."

Ashley is confused. "I know that."

"Every time you have an emotional issue, you run." Stella is nervous bringing this up, the last thing she wants to do is upset Eden anymore today. She has been sheepishly looking at her feet to this point, she looks up. The look on Eden's face is one of understanding, surprisingly. Stella continues.

"I'm your wife; you should be able to come to me first."

Ashley knows it's taken a lot for Stella to bring this up, especially now of all times, so it must be something that's really bothered her. She decides to be completely honest.

"I've not really had a lot of people in my life that I can count on. I guess I'm just not that used to having someone I can run too. But I'll work on it, I promise."

Stella smiles, and puts her arms round Eden. "Thank you."

"If it makes you feel any better, you and you alone are the only reason I knew I could get through this."

Stella has no words; she just kisses her lovingly on the lips. Ashley still needs to convey her feelings, so she starts to talk between kisses.

"I love you so much." Stella just smiles into the kisses.

They are disturbed by the sound of someone clearing their throat. They instantly pull apart, and glance to see Audrey stepping onto the balcony. She looks just as exhausted and emotional as Eden.

"Are you okay?" Ashley really is worried about her grandmother.

Audrey just smiles, though it can't disguise the sorrow and the anguish on her face. "I will be. I think the jet lag is kicking in, I going to head for bed. I just wanted to say goodnight."

Audrey moves, and kissed Eden first and then Stella on the cheek, they both say their goodnights and watch worriedly as she heads back into the apartment and disappears to her room.

Stella and Eden look at each other, concern apparent on both of their faces. But the look seems to convey at the same time, that this can all wait until the morning, they are both worn out and emotionally drained. They both know that, there are huge emotional times ahead, Amelia's funeral, their new family forming. But right know they just want to have each other and forget about all the other stuff.

So with this thought in both of their minds, almost telepathic between the two, Stella grabs Eden's hand.

"Let's go to bed."

Ashley obediently follows, she just wants to hold her wife, and worry about what tomorrow brings, tomorrow.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**REMEMBER PLEASE REVIEW. ALL FEEDBACK WELCOME, ALSO ON TWITTER (AT) Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

**AS USUAL SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG. HOPE YOU LIKE THE NEW CHAPTER. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.**

Ashley hates flying. Like really hates it with a passion. It terrifies her, she knows it's quite ridiculous, and everyone always tells her it's the safest form of transport, blah blah blah, but it's just not natural for this many people to be stuck in a metal tube, this high off the ground. She is currently preparing herself for takeoff, unfortunately today she has to fly, she Stella, Mac and Audrey are about to leave the ground heading for Chicago, for her mother Amelia's funeral.

Ashley is currently clutching Stella's hand in a death grip, eyes closed she can't bear to watch as the plane takes off. Stella who had no idea previously, of her wife's phobia, is trying her best to comfort her, but is also slightly amused by the look of pure panic and fear on her face. Stella has never had an issue with flying.

The seats directly in front of Stella and Ashley are occupied by Mac and Audrey. There is an uneasy silence between the two, they haven't had the chance to speak since all of this happened. Although they may well get a chance now, they will be stuck next to each other for a couple of hours at least. Mac feels quite angry and betrayed by Audrey, whereas Audrey just feels completely embarrassed, this could be a long flight.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Around 30 minutes later, Stella is still highly amused at her wife's fear; Ashley has just about calmed down, but now feels highly embarrassed. She can see Stella smirking at her through the corner of her eye. So much for the supportive wife routine. Ashley smirks to herself, revenge will be sweet, and planning it might take her mind off this awful journey.

Stella squeezes Eden's hand, causing her to be disturbed from her thoughts; she looks over at her wife inquisitively.

"You feeling a little calmer now?" Stella can't help the smirk that appears on her face. Which Ashley reciprocates, ah yes revenge will indeed be sweet. She also feels a little self-conscious.

"Yeah, so I never really mentioned my fear of flying huh?" She smiles sheepishly and looks down at their interlinked fingers.

Stella can't help herself. "Yeah I never had you down as someone with irrational fears."

Ashley takes the bait, irrational? How dare she, her head whips up. "Irrational?" the disbelief is apparent from her tone.

"I don't know how you dare, it's not irrational, it's unnatural is what it is. . ."

Stella bursts out laughing, it's at this point Ashley realises her wife is indeed trying to wind her up. Ashley goes into ultra childish strop mode, and drops Stella's hand and turns in her chair away from her. Bottom lip well and truly out.

Stella tries to apologise through her laughter. "Aw Shorty come on, don't be like that. . ."

Meanwhile on the row in front . . .

Audrey decides she needs to make her peace with Mac; she goes about it in her own brash fashion.

"You know Mac, Eden has forgiven me, I don't see why you can't do the same."

Mac can't quiet believe his ears, he was at least expecting an apology of sorts, he looks over at Audrey, and it appears she is deadly serious. She seems to be waiting for Mac's response.

Flabbergasted he gives it. "Is that it? No apology, No I'm sorry, no nothing?"

"I won't apologise for trying to do the best for my family. I'm sorry you missed out on her life Mac, but you've got a chance to put that right now. A chance that hasn't been afforded to my daughter. I can't change the past, there's no point holding all that anger inside. We can start afresh now, as a family."

Audrey holds her hand out to Mac as a peace offering, Mac just looks at it. Audrey's words wash over him; he knows she's correct, if he wants a real father daughter relationship with Eden, there's no way that could happen if he and Audrey are at loggerheads. Plus she's also right, what's the point in being angry and holding grudges.

He reaches out and grabs her hand, smiling. "Fresh Start."

Audrey reciprocates his smile, pulls his hand and envelopes him into a huge hug, he can't help but mirror her, embracing her warmly and smiling into the hug.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella has stopped teasing Ashley, and Ashley has forgiven Stella for her earlier actions, and they have relaxed into the flight. Ashley realises she still hasn't told Stella a few things about her family back home, she looks over at her wife who is currently flicking through a magazine, she decides no time like the present.

"Hey Stel."

This causes Stella to look up from her mag, she is met by Eden's smiling face, which of course as usual makes her smile, she wonders if this reaction to her wife's smile will ever fade. She hopes not.

"So there's a couple of things of things you don't know about my family back in Chicago."

This has Stella intrigued. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I kinda have a half brother and sister."

The shock must be apparent on Stella's face, because Eden sees it and starts to panic, and frantically starts explaining.

"Well, I say brother and sister, the boy is only and 15, and the girl is 8, I've never met them myself, I was kicked out long before they came along, but they do exist, and technically we have the same blood running through us."

She chances a look up at Stella, who now understands why she's never mentioned them before; she does have a few questions though.

"How do you even know about them?"

"Gran, although she didn't really have anything to do with Mum, she always had access to them, apparently their dad is a pretty good guy. He arranged everything."

"So you're going to be meeting them for the first time at the funeral?"

"Well actually they'll be staying at Gran's estate with us. So really we'll meet them as soon as we get there."

Something else catches Stella's attention. "Wait a minute, her estate?"

Ashley laughs. "Have you not realised how loaded she is yet, she sold me our apartment for $100." She emphasises her point by giving Stella an 'are you stupid face'. Which she immediately picks up on and tuts.

"I guess I never really thought about it." She really hadn't, she knew Eden's family was well off, but she didn't know they were Rich.

"Yeah you married into money baby." She wiggles her eyebrows which causes Stella to laugh.

"While we're on the subject of families." This is something Ashley has been, meaning to bring up again ever since they had last discussed it. Again Stella is enchanted by her wife; she says nothing, just listens intently.

"My name." Ashley takes a deep breath, and sees Stella is about to protest, so speaks again quickly before she has the chance.

"I know we discussed it, and that you'd be more than happy to take my name." Stella nods in agreement, she can tell Eden still hasn't finished.

"And that would be fine, except to me family is about legacy, as well as future. 'Ashley' would have represented our future, but neither of our pasts. I want Bonasera."

Again Stella goes to protest again, with the initial argument she had when they first discussed this. Again Ashley speaks before she has a chance, almost reading her mind.

"I know my name is Ashley. So I thought I would keep it on, as a middle name, that way it's still technically my name, so it won't be weird that people still call me it."

Stella smiles; if she's honest she's delighted that they will be carrying on her family name. "You've really been thinking about this haven't you?"

Ashley smirks. "Yeah, it's really important to me. I can't wait to be Eden Alexa Ashley Bonasera. What do you reckon?"

Stella radiates with pride, "It's perfect. Thank you."

Ashley pulls her in for a hug, and kisses her on the head. "No problem, Mrs Bonasera."

Stella beams into the hug. She really does have the most perfect wife, and the most perfect marriage.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The foursome had arrived at Audrey's Chicago estate about an hour ago, Stella Ashley and Mac had been briefly introduced to Eden's half brother and sister, Zane and Sienna, and they didn't say two words, which has really disheartened Ashley. They were also introduced to their father, Samuel Parker, he was a lot warmer. They had then been shown to their rooms, where they quickly dropped their stuff off. Now everyone is sitting in the main living room.

There's an eerie almost uncomfortable silence in the room, the two children are currently clinging onto their grandmother, they are obviously close the three of them, Ashley feels sad at the sight; she wishes she could have had the opportunity to get close to them too.

"You look a lot like her you know." Ashley is startled by Samuel speaking, she knows he is referring to Amelia, there is no denying they are mother and daughter. Ashley doesn't really know what to say so she just smiles back at him, he returns the smile, and then starts to speak again.

"Amelia left us all letters, we waited until you got here, but I guess we can open them now."

He pulls out a mass of envelops from somewhere within the chair he's sitting in, he starts to dispense them, he has one, Ashley and Audrey too, and the kids appear to have one between them. Then more surprisingly he passes one to Stella and to Mac too. Samuel speaks once more.

"It was Amelia's strict instruction that we all read them together and out loud."

Ashley takes a deep breath, she's not really sure what to expect, her mother of course seemed to change in the end, but Ashley had suffered for over 16 years prior to that, and prior to her latest visit, Amelia had always taken pleasure in seeing Ashley squirm, she eyes the envelop suspiciously.

Nobody else has said a word. "I'll go first." It appears Samuel is feeling brave. He sighs and then rips open his envelop.

"Samuel. You were the love of my life. I hope you know that. You tried so hard to make me a better person, and I'm only sorry I didn't do more, to be someone like you, someone you could have been proud of. Look after to my two beautiful babies, and know that I will always be watching over you. Love you always. Amelia."

He really stumbles over the last few words, the emotion clearly getting to him, as it is to everyone in the room, Ashley can barely swallow, Stella just grabs her hand, tears threatening her eyes. Ashley doesn't think she could read hers if she wanted too, so she's glad when Audrey is next to speak.

"Zane, why don't you read, yours and Sienna's out."

The young man is clearly apprehensive, but he slowly tears at the envelop, and then steadies himself as his eyes scan the page, he clears his throat before starting to read.

"Zane and Sienna, my two darlings." This is apparently too much for the young Sienna already, she starts to cry, Audrey immediately pulls her closer, and starts to comfort her. Zane continues.

"Know that mommy loves you very much, and is very sad that she won't be around anymore. But I know in my heart, that you will have the most amazing lives, because you have the most amazing family, your father, you loving grandmother, and your older sister Eden. My final wish is that you two get to know Eden, and try and go some way into making up for the way I treated her. Do it for me please kids? I will always be alive in your hearts. Love you always."

Zane wipes a tear from his eye quickly, he obviously trying to stick to his image as a hard teenage boy. Ashley's emotional barrier has broken, tears now freely falling. Stella is gently rubbing her hand, trying to provide some comfort. Audrey looks over at Ashley, and decides she should be the one to go next.

Copying her grandson she clears her throat to indicate that she will take her turn. A series of watery eyes turn their attention to the old lady.

"Mum. Thank you for everything. For looking after all 3 of my children, and looking after Eden, when I was too stupid and to stubborn to do it myself. I'm sorry; I couldn't be the daughter you hoped for, the daughter you deserved. But I want you to know, you were the best mum. And I'm so sorry. Love always, your infuriating child, Amelia."

Audrey laughs as she reads the last line. She feels a contentment at her daughters words, she feels at ease and at peace, she's really proud of her daughter for what she's done, she can't help feeling sorrow at the fact that it took her impending death to make her come to her senses.

Mac decides that out of the three that are left to read, he should probably be next to go. He opens his envelop, the rest of the room looks to him at the sound of the ripping paper, he grabs the sheet, and straightens it out.

"Mac. I assume by now, you've probably done the DNA test; I mean you are all scientists after all. And knowing the kind of man you are I know you will have joined Eden to my funeral, so that's why I included you in this little morbid ritual. Really and truly there are only two words I want to say to you. I'm Sorry."

Mac just lowers his head. Deep in thought.

Stella knows that she needs to go next. She releases her hand from Eden's, her face is now tear stained, like everyone else's in the room.

"Stella. We obviously didn't get off to the best start, but I know you and Eden will still be together. I could see the same deep love radiating in both of your eyes. I owe you an apology. I'm sorry. If there is one thing I'm absolutely sure of I know you will look after my daughter. So for that, thank you."

Ashley has been dreading this moment. The rest of the letters have calmed her slightly, she no longer thinks this is an extravagant attempt by her mother to make her feel terrible. But now she's more worried she might have some sort of emotional breakdown. She can feel all eyes on her, she is of course the only person who hasn't read her letter, she slides the paper out, and takes one last huge exhale to steady herself.

"Eden. My dear sweet beautiful Eden. Where do I start? How do I begin to tell you how sorry I am? I don't think there's enough paper in the world for me to thoroughly express my remorse."

Ashley takes a deep breath, faltering, she swallows the lump in her throat and continues.

"For me to treat you the way I did, and for you to still turn into an amazing young woman with an amazing career speaks volumes. If Sienna grows up to be half the woman you turned out to be, I'll be a happy mother."

This really hits Ashley and she struggles to get the next line out through her tears, Stella is trying her best to comfort her, but her own heart is breaking.

"Know Eden that I love you, I always loved you, I never stopped despite what you might think, but know that above all else, I am very very proud of you. Love Mum."

Ashley can't really control her emotion. Stella is rubbing her back frantically trying to think of ways to make the pain go away.

The whole room is surprised when Sienna jumps from her grandmother's lap, and tentatively makes her way over to her older sister. She looks quite apprehensive, but smiles when Ashley looks up at her, she throws her arms round Ashley's neck, pulling into a heart wrenching hug. Stella heart hits bursting point, she knows how much this will mean to her wife.

Zane who is still quietly sobbing, follows his sister's suit a little faster he makes his way over to the embracing siblings and throws his own arms around both their necks, they instantly accept him into the hug, and that's how they stay, three siblings who only met mere hours ago united in grief.

Audrey looks at her three grandchildren, now the tears reach her eyes. This is something she has dreamed of for years.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The funeral came and went in somewhat a blur. It was a beautiful service; Amelia was buried in the family plot next to her father, Audrey's husband. Everybody had come back to Audrey's estate for the wake, but the last few remnants of guests have just left. It's been an emotional day for Eden, made worse by the fact that she Stella and Mac have to head back to New York extremely early in the morning.

It's around 7.30pm Ashley is shattered, so is everybody else, Sienna, who is already ready for bed, trudges over to her older sister, with her favourite story book in hand.

"Will you read my bedtime story?" She looks at the floor sheepishly, scared Eden will say no. Ashley just smiles.

"Of course I will sweetie." She rises from the chair and takes Sienna's hand before leading her upstairs.

Stella smiles, and looks over at Audrey and Samuel, both of whom have stopped what they were doing, namely talking to each other, and the look of happiness and pride on both faces, is brilliant, they both look over at Stella knowingly. Samuel rises from his chair and settles next to Stella.

"She's a remarkable woman, your wife."

Stella is slightly taken aback, of course she agrees, her wife is amazing, but she wasn't expecting that from him. Samuel doesn't seem to notice her surprise, he continues with what he was saying.

"Most people wouldn't have forgiven Amelia for what she did. For Eden to not only forgive her, but to come here."

He gets emotional at this point, Stella reaches across and grabs his hand, something he's grateful for.

"I want you to know, I always wanted Amelia to let them meet, Zane, Sienna and Eden, I mean. I hope they can try and have some sort of relationship now."

"I'm sure Eden would love that. If there's one thing I know means the world to her, its family." Stella smile, Samuel reciprocates.

"And you of course." The confusion from Stella must be apparent this time. Samuel explains.

"Well you're part of this family now too. So it's important for us all to get to know you too."

Stella can feel the tears starting to form in her eyes and the lump in her throat. She knew when she married Eden that the two of them would become a family, along with Audrey of course, but in such a short space of time, she's acquired, a father in law, in Mac, and a brother and sister in law, in Zane and Sienna, as well as Samuel, she's not quite sure what to refer to him as, but she knows he is definitely family, the warmth and love just radiates off of him. She spent her entire life yearning to belong, and now here she is part of her very own family.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Sienna had fallen asleep pretty quickly, bless her. She was shattered. Eden tucked her in and spent a few minutes just looking at her, she reminded her so much of herself at that age, there's no refuting that they are sisters. She vows there and then to make up for lost time with her siblings.

She quietly lets herself out of Sienna's bedroom, and immediately bumps into Zane in the hall. He looks rather sheepish; it appears he's been waiting for her. He's looking at his feet, still dressed in his black suit, it seems he is a typical 15 year old boy, so Ashley decides to break the ice.

"Hey."

He looks up immediately, and can't help but smile when he sees Ashley smiling back at him.

"Hey."

When Zane doesn't speak immediately again, Ashley decides to take initiative. "How you holding up?"

"I'm okay considering." It seems that Zane is finally going to get round to saying exactly what he wants to say.

"I want to apologize." He looks up at his sister, who is wearing a puzzled expression.

"On behalf of Mom. I always knew about you, and I just assumed, you must have done something so wrong for her to do what she did. Because you know she would never have done anything like that to me or Sienna." He takes a breath, Ashley can sense there is more to come, the air is getting thinner, and she's not sure where this is going.

"When Mom sat me down, just before she went to find you in New York, and explained what had happened, and why it had happened, I couldn't believe my ears, you know?"

He chances a look up at Eden to make sure she is still following, which she's is, but still isn't really sure where he's going with this.

"I vowed to Mom, there and then, that I would spend the rest of my life trying to make up for her mistakes, to make sure that you know that you're part of this family, and that although it took mom far too long to realise it, to know that she wanted you as part of this family too."

Ashley has no words, just tears, she attempts to swallow the lump in her throat in the hope that she can formulate a sentence, but it doesn't work. Zane it appears has also let the emotion get to him, tears streaming down his face too. The brother and sister look at each other, and just instantly fall into each other, sobbing, Ashley is holding him so tight she never wants to let him go, and Zane is embracing back just as hard.

Eventually they pull back, smiling and laughing, both feeling a little embarrassed by their show of emotion.

Zane decides to quickly change the subject, to something else he's been curious about.

"So you guys live in New York huh?"

Ashley immediately picks up on his excitement. "Yeah, you're more than welcome to visit whenever you want."

Zane smiles. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

He smiles and Ashley ruffles his hair, and puts her arm round him as they head back downstairs. Happy.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Later on that evening Stella Mac and Ashley, said their emotional goodbyes to Samuel, Zane and Audrey, who was staying on in Chicago to help get Zane and Sienna settled back into some sort of normal routine.

The Trio had to head to the airport at 3am, to make sure they got their early flight back to New York. They are currently on the plane, waiting for takeoff. Mac again is sitting in front of the two ladies, and is currently trying to get some much needed sleep, something which Stella is also dying to do, but she knows from the first flight that she needs to be here to comfort Eden.

She slides her hand into Eden's and smiles at her wife, when she looks over at her, she looks a lot calmer that she did on the way to Chicago.

"How you feeling?"

"Really great." Ashley smiles, infectiously apparently as Stella's face immediately mirrors that of her wife. Initially she thinks Eden has misunderstood.

"I mean about our impending flight."

Ashley smiles. "You know what; I guess life is too short for irrational fears." She sticks he tongue out at Stella when she finishes, and a huge smile illuminates her face once more.

Stella couldn't be any prouder of her wife. She leans in and kisses her. She really can't wait to get back to New York and properly start married life with this amazing woman.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT, PLEASE REVIEW, OR LEAVE FEEDBACK ON TWITTER (AT) Eden_Ashley_Chr THANKS. **


	23. Chapter 23

**SORRY FOR THE MASSIVE DELAY (DONT ASK) HA! HOPE YOU ENJOY, AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK – BIT OF A DEPARTURE FROM THE OTHER EPISODES, WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM THE 'FAMILY DRAMA' A BIT. REVIEW PLEASE.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Stella is driving home after a long day at work, its dark, she cannot wait to get home to Eden, they've been back from Chicago for around a month now, and although it's been difficult, adjusting to their new family, their marriage has been fantastic, and growing stronger every day.

Stella is currently driving over the Williamsburgh Bridge in what she hopes will be a shortcut. She's gets most of the way over the bridge heading into the Lower East Side of Manhattan, when she is pulled from her thoughts about Eden, by a car pulled over on the side of the road, with its hazard lights on. It's fairly late; the road is otherwise pretty deserted.

Stella slows down to a crawl to investigate what's happening, and is shocked when she sees a man, looks to be mid to late forty's, wispy hair blowing in the wind, standing on the wrong side of the railings, she pulls over immediately, assuming suicide attempt.

She is horrified when as she moves closer, she realises the man has a small boy in his arm, he can't be more than Seven years old, and he looks terrified, which is understandable because the man looks rather unstable, he sobbing, and murmuring something inaudible in-between the sobs.

Before Stella can even attempt to intervene, the older gentleman lets out one final gut wrenching wail, and throws himself and the small boy into the river. Stella although highly dismayed and horrified, springs into action. She darts off the bridge as fast as her legs will carry her, and sprints down the embankment to the water's edge.

As she's running she pulls out her cell and dials 911, she frantically barks out instructions, not waiting for a greeting or response from the person on the other end of the line.

"This is detective Bonasera with the New York Crime Lab, I'm currently on the Williamsburgh Bridge, Manhattan side, Possible PC 664/187, and man has just thrown himself off the bridge with a child in his arms. Get this to Mac Taylor."

She doesn't wait for a response, just disconnects the call, and starts to remove her jacket. She folds it and places it on the floor, along with her shoes, police badge and gun, along with the cell phone she has just utilized. She takes a deep breath and dives into the water.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has been home for a while, she's starting to pace a little, Stella had called around an hour ago, to say she was on her way home, even in the most horrendous traffic, the journey is 45 minutes max. The fact that Stella called around 9pm when traffic would have been fairly reasonable, is really starting to worry Ashley.

She paces towards the living room area, again. She decides if Stella isn't home in ten minutes, she's going to have to start driving round the streets of New York, she doesn't want to call her cell, she has nightmares of Stella answering when she's driving and it causing some sort of huge accident.

Just as she settles on her next course of action, the house telephone starts to ring. Ashley practically leaps at the phone, and answers it straight away; it must have only managed half a ring. Her mind immediately goes into over drive when she hears Mac on the other end of the line, and her heart sinks when she hears the tone of his voice.

"Eden?"

"Mac. What's wrong?" She can't help the panic that filtrates through her voice.

"It's Stella."

Ashley's panic level reaches a maximum. "Where is she?"

Mac realises he has alarmed her, but to be completely honest he's a little fearful himself.

"We don't know, just get to the Williamsburgh Bridge, I'll explain everything when you get here."

Ashley wastes no time, she grabs her keys and sprints for the exit. A million and one thoughts swirling in her brain, none of them good, each a little worse than the last.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ashley made it to the bridge in record time, there was no problem finding Mac, there are flashing lights and cops and paramedics everywhere, this does nothing to calm her. Her heart literally jumps into her throat when she notices Stella's car coarsely parked at the side of the road, just abandoned, she can feel the tears start to sting her eyeballs already.

She parks up her own car and without hesitation runs down the river bank, under the police tape and straight for Mac, when she reaches him, she just starts babbling, she can't form a coherent sentence. Mac quickly grabs her by her shoulders, and shakes her gently, trying to force her to focus.

"Eden honey, calm down." He gives her a little shake again, this seems to have the desired effect and brings her round, she looks directly into his eyes, she needs an explanation.

"Mac, what the hell is going on?"

Mac takes a deep breath; he knows this isn't going to be easy on his daughter.

"Stella called it in herself; some guy threw himself off the bridge with his kid in his arms."

Ashley processes the information, Stella must have seen this happening on her way home, she returns her focus to Mac, evidently there is more to this story. Mac continues.

"When we got here, all Stella's things where piled up on the side of the river, her badge, gun, shoe's. . . "

It slowly dawns on Ashley what Mac is getting at.

"She went in the water." It's more of a statement than a question from Ashley. Mac sees her eyes glaze over.

Ashley runs towards the water, it's an almost involuntary action on her part, Mac jumps at the sudden movement, but manages to grab hold of her, before she can dive in too. Panic wracks her body, all she can think about is the darkness, it must be approaching 10.30pm, its pitch black, Stella must be terrified, and its freezing, it's so cold, this is what's worrying her the most.

Mac suddenly realises maybe bringing Eden to the scene wasn't the best idea. He shouts.

"Adam."

Adam immediately perks up, he sees Mac and Ashley, and his first concern is that Mac has Eden in like a bear hug from behind, his second concern is the expression on her face, he immediately runs over. Mac wastes no time.

"Adam, I want you to take Eden back to the lab and look after her there."

Adam nods his head instantly agreeing, this sentence seems to bring her out of her daze, unsurprisingly Ashley doesn't share Mac and Adam's sentiment.

"No way Mac, I want to be here, I need to be here."

They become involved in a three way tussle, Adam and Mac both trying to make Ashley see sense, and go back to the lab, and Ashley arguing her case to stay.

Over the almost shouting the three of them are doing, and the hustle bustle of the scene, one of the cops shouts.

"Mac, we've found a body."

Instant silence, complete instant silence.

Then Ashley's feet take over, she runs towards the cop, Adam and Mac aren't far behind. Ashley reaches the edge of the river where all the commotion is, her heart in her mouth, she takes a deep breath, and opens her eyes, she hadn't even realised they were closed. She is a little ashamed of the relief she feels, when she sees a man in his 40's being dragged from the water.

Although this really doesn't fill her with confidence about Stella's chances.

Adam grabs Eden, and steers her towards his car, she is far too emotional to resist, and let's herself be led away from the scene.

Mac watches as his daughter is removed from the scene, the life trickling out of her eyes. He has to find Stella.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After Stella had dived in the water, she had managed to catch sight of the father and son, she struggled against the terrible conditions in the water and the current, and managed to grab the boy, he was not in a good way, he was unconscious and the water is freezing, she knows neither of them will survive for very long in these conditions.

It's with this thought in her head, as she struggles against the current, that she can feel herself being swept away, and there's nothing she can do about it.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Adam manages to calm Ashley down in the car. She snaps out of it and realises that if she is going to be at all useful she needs to pull herself together. She heads over to Mac; it looks like he's talking to the rescue co-ordinator from the fire department. They both acknowledge Ashley as she joins them; she almost dreads asking the next question.

"Any developments?" Ashley can't bear to look them in the eyes, as she waits for the answer.

Mac quickly puts her out of her misery.

"The guy we found, looks like he died from the impact. Which is something I suppose."

He looks at Eden to make sure she understands, she does. The fall not the awful conditions killed him, a small glimmer of hope for Stella. Mac continues.

"But there's still no sign of Stella or the boy."

At this point the FDNY co-ordinator pipes in.

"Listen Mac, I know she's one of yours. . ."

At this point Ashley's ear's really perk up, this guy obviously has no idea that Stella is her wife.

". . .But it's been six hours, the conditions and the way the tide is going, almost certainly mean she's still in the water, plus we've been searching the banks, and there's no sign of her. . ."

Mac knows where this is going; he prepares himself for the impending explosion from Eden.

". . . Nobody can survive that long in these conditions."

Ashley knows exactly what he is saying, but she needs him to verbalise it.

"So what are you suggesting?" She manages the question through gritted teeth.

He turns and looks at Ashley almost as if it's the first time he's noticed she's there.

"Well ma'am, I'm suggesting we call the search off, the likelihood is, we're searching for a body now, and the chances of us ever finding that, in there."

He gestures out over the water; the first rays of morning sunlight are just starting to reflect on the water's surface. As predicted, Ashley explodes.

"No, No way." She screams, Mac immediately tries to calm her down.

"We are not leaving her out there."

Danny hears the commotion, and instantly joins the group. "What's going on?"

Mac and the co-ordinator look at the ground, almost ashamed. Looks like it's up to Ashley to explain, defiant, with hands on hips, and still fuming.

"He." She gestures towards the fire fighter, "wants to leave my wife out there to die."

It's at this point the FDNY co-ordinator realises the significance of who he's been talking to, which again makes his gaze drop to his own feet again.

Danny can't imagine what Eden is going through, be he feels he needs to inject some realism.

"The likelihood is, that she's already dead Eden."

The emotion catches in his own throat as he says it, it was definitely hard for him to say, truly. Ashley cannot believe her ears.

"So you too huh? You wanna give up on her as well?"

"Of course I don't want to . . ." Danny is stammering over his words now.

"Do you think Stella, would give up on you? Do you think she would give up on any of us? Huh?"

Danny feels almost ashamed.

"Come on Danny, has Stella ever given up on you?"

The answer is of course no, he can't formulate a sentence, just looks at the floor, trying desperately to swallow the emotion and stop the tears that are threatening his eyes from falling. Something which Ashley has failed miserably at.

She knows ultimately the final say on what happens goes to Mac. She turns to face him.

"And what about you?" She looks at him eyes full of emotion, his heart breaking. "Do you think we should just pack up and go home? Even if she is dead Mac." Even just speaking these words out loud, was like being stabbed through the heart for Ashley.

"You better than anyone must know how it feels to not have a body to bury, to not have that closure"

This hits him like a bullet, he doesn't know what to say, if it was any one else but Stella, then the rescue operation would probably be over already. He has to balance his personal feelings and his professional feelings. The thing is he knows, professionally he should call the search off.

Ashley can see he is in inner turmoil, she can't explain her next actions, she reaches out and grabs his hand, which causes him to raise his head and look her directly in the eyes, she mutters gently almost inaudibly, but Mac hears it.

"Please Dad. I'm begging you." She takes a massive breath in, to try and stem the flow of tears more than anything else.

"Just gimme another hour."

Mac just nods, this is all Ashley needs, she runs off towards the car. Mac can't speak; did she just call him Dad?

Ashley is heading back to the car, as she asked Adam to get the blue print of the river, to show any tunnels that may connect into the river or any lowerings in the banks of the river they may not know about. Realistically Ashley knows the only way Stella is still alive is if she has somehow managed to get out of the water.

"Adam, did you get the prints?"

"Sure did princess."

He hands them to her, and she instantly unrolls them on the bonnet of the truck, she looks at them and then looks out across the river, the sun is fully out now, so she can see everything. She studies back and forth between the plans and reality for a few minutes, Adam watching her intently the whole time.

"What's that over there Adam?" She points out across the actual river, to a sort of tunnel sticking out on the side.

Adam sees it, but he has no idea what it is, his lack of response spurs Ashley on.

"It's not on the blue prints." Adam scans the plans, she's rights.

"Well Ash, these are the latest plans, anything pre 1900 won't be on these. That could be part of the old sewage system."

Ashley immediately gets the hope back; she knows deep in her heart Stella is still alive, and that Tunnel may well have been her best chance at survival.

"Adam find out what that tunnel is, and where it leads."

And with that she disappears to find Mac.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Adam was right, the tunnel was part of the old sewage system, the bad news is that it connects into the current sewage system, so if Stella has in fact managed to get herself into the tunnel, she could now be anywhere under New York City. They started from the side of the river, and are now making their way towards the city. Stella has been missing for about 12 hours now, ample time to get quite far into the city. They at least know she will have had the good sense to stay in a straight line. They are armed with a map showing all the tunnels.

Adam and Ashley have just checked one man hole, and are slowly walking towards the next; they are both drained physically and emotionally.

Ashley sighs. "Talk about needle in a haystack."

Adam smiles and grabs her hand as they are walking. "Hey, we'll find her, okay?"

Ashley entwines their fingers as they continue to walk, and smiles. "Thanks Adam."

He winks at her, as they arrive at their destination. As much as they both want to find Stella, sticking their heads into manholes isn't appealing to either, especially due to the number they have already looked in. Ashley looks at the manhole, then at Adam and sighs.

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

Adam nods, they immediately shake their fist at each other three times. Adam opts for scissors, Ashley for paper. Damn.

She resignedly drops to her knees, and removes the manhole cover, she takes the flashlight from Adam, and braces herself for the smell as she first drops her flash light wielding arm, and then her head into the hole, and she starts to look around the cavernous tunnel below, with the light as her guide.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Its dark, breathing is a struggle, and she is cold, she is so very cold. She has managed to keep hold of the little boy, although she's not entirely sure what good it will be do, she can't even be certain if he is still alive now, and she is certainly doesn't have the strength to check. All she can do now is hope. Hope that Eden will find her; the tears start to fall again at the thought of her wife. She's still not really sure how she even got here, just that it was the hardest thing she has ever done, it took a super human strength, she reminisces back to when she was hanging on for dear life, praying not to get swept out into the ocean, never to be seen again, pulling herself up into this tunnel, and forcing her and the boy through the metal bars at the entrance. Then using everything she had to plod along the tunnel, carrying the poor boy. Until eventually, what seemed like an age ago she collapsed here in this spot, and hasn't been able to move since.

Just then she hears some commotion up above, the light in the distance, she hears someone call her name, no, not just 'someone'. Eden, she can hear Eden shouting her name.

She tries in vain to call out, but her mouth is so dry, the words won't come out, the light that she had seen in the distance falls onto her face, she hopes and prays that Eden has seen her, but almost as soon as the light is on her, it disappears again.

"Stella." Ashley's throat is getting a little horse from shouting so much, but it's worth it she supposes if she finds her.

She scans the darkness below with the flashlight. She places the light over down to her left hand side, quickly, she can believe her eyes, she's sure she has just seen something; she quickly whips the light back to where she thought she saw the form.

Stella's heart melts when the light returns to her face and stays there, Eden has found her, with that thought she allows herself to drift into unconsciousness.

Ashley whips her head out of the hole, the speed at which she does it surprises Adam. She screams back to Mac and the co-ordinator.

"I've found her, get an EMT ASAP."

She looks at Adam with tears in her eyes. "We found her."

"I told you, we would." Adam smiles.

Although she is apprehensive, as she has no idea what sort of state Stella is in, she wastes no time in descending down into the tunnel, closely followed by Adam.

Stella is in a bad way, she can tell that just by looking at her, the boy she is cradling looks ten times worse. Adam starts to tend to him.

Stella is unconscious, so she checks for a pulse, it's there, its faint but it's there. She breaths out a massive sigh of relief and brushes the hair out of Stella's face, before lowering and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They got Stella and the young boy out of the sewer and rushed them to the hospital, neither of them in a good way. The boy was rushed straight into surgery.

Stella, who needed CPR in the ambulance on the way over, which freaked Ashley out no end, has been rushed in for some sort of blood warming procedure, Ashley doesn't fully understand at the moment, she is dazed and confused. Stella is suffering from severe hypothermia.

Ashley is now going out of her mind in the hospital waiting room, with the rest of the team. Mac has just been getting an update on the boy from the doctor, the team all look up expectantly when he enters the waiting room area. Mac sighs.

"The young boy died on the operating table."

Everyone on the team drops their heads, Ashley feels even more disheartened, everybody involved in this disaster so far has died, she hopes Stella finds the strength to buck the trend.

Mac takes a seat next to Eden; she immediately takes his hand in hers, and rests her head on his shoulder. He squeezes her hand and kisses her on the head. As awful as this ordeal has been, Mac can't help but think it really has helped; he and Eden get closer, and mover towards taking the next step in their father daughter relationship.

Stella's doctor approaches the group. "Mrs Bonasera?"

Ashley looks up, the fear wracking her body and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach is beyond a joke as she stands to meet the doctor.

"Yes that's me." She shakes the doctor's hand, in somewhat of a daze.

"I'm doctor Casler; I've been treating your wife."

Ashley just nods, she can't speak, the doctor continues.

"She's responded really well to treatment. She's still a little groggy, but we expect her to make a full recovery."

Ashley actually cries out in relief, the team who are all still seated, but listening intently, breath a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much." Ashley truly means it, and if it wasn't highly inappropriate she would kiss him.

"Can I see her?"

The doctor has a beaming smile himself. "Of course."

Ashley wastes no time in heading for Stella's room, she pokes her head round the door and Stella's face immediately lights up in the most beautiful smile, she is sitting up in bed, she looks a lot better than the last time she saw her, if Ashley's honest she probably looks a lot better than she does right now, she hasn't been home since the scene, and has had no sleep for almost two days.

She slowly moves towards the bed, and grabs Stella's hand, and exhales again. Pure relief.

"Please don't ever do anything like that ever again."

Stella laughs, God how Ashley has longed to hear that laugh again.

"Don't worry Shorty, I won't."

Ashley crawls onto the bed next to Stella, and takes her in her arms.

"We have got to stop having sleepovers at the hospital." Again this makes them both chuckle. The mood gets rather more serious. Ashley speaks.

"I really thought I'd lost you." The lump immediately returns to her throat.

Stella can't imagine what Eden has gone through, especially with her losing Katy the way she did all those years ago, she hates herself a little for putting her through it. She knows in future she will at least try to stop and think before putting her life in danger. Stella begins to talk.

"I know this is gunna sound weird, but I knew you'd find me." She really did.

"I wouldn't have stopped until I had."

**XXXXXXXXX **

**DONT FORGET TO REVIEW, OR GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK ON TWITTER Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

**AS USUAL APOLOGIES FOR THE LENGTH OF TIME THIS CHAPTER HAS TAKEN, HOPE YOU LIKE IT. , MUCH MORE 'CASE RELATED' THAN THE OTHERS, JUST TO PRE WARN – THERE IS REFERENCES TO RAPE IN THE CHAPTER, SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MAY OFFEND YOU THEN DONT READ ANY FURTHER. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE MORE 'RELATIONSHIPPY' AND HAPPY! REVIEW PLEASE.**

Eden Bonasera is happy, and it unnerves her. You see this hardly ever happens. Usually something comes along and spoils it. The first time she was really happy, when she finally accepted who she was, boom, her family disowned her. The second time she was truly happy, with Katy, boom, she's cruelly murdered. The third time she allows herself to be happy, with Stella, well it hasn't exactly been all fun and games, from Stella's initial denial of her feelings, that slap, to Eden nearly being murdered, to Stella nearly dying, to Amelia trying to split them up, and then actually dying, to all the heartache caused by finding out Mac was her father, oh yes, it's been a ride.

Now to this contentment. Stella's 'incident' in the Hudson, was almost five months ago, they have just passed the six month mark in their marriage, and they couldn't be happier. Ashley is starting to panic; it's almost as if she can't let herself enjoy the happiness, because she knows deep down, that something along the line will happen to take it all away. It's a feeling she can't shake.

She's currently having these thoughts laying in bed, not for the first time she has woken before her alarm, she can hear the gentle rise and fall of Stella's chest as she sleeps soundly next to her, she decides to take this moment, to just look at her beautiful wife, drinking her in.

Even in sleep Stella can feel eyes on her, she opens her own, and his greeted by Eden's bright blue orbs, and a huge smile which she can't help but reciprocate. No words are spoken between them, Ashley just dips her head and takes Stella lips with her own, which she readily accepts, the kiss grows between them, a small moan escapes Stella's throat, and it drives Ashley wild, even now, after all this time together, she still loses herself when Stella kisses her like this. The passion and need she has for her wife astounds her.

Stella can tell Eden is feeling pretty emotional, and she's more than happy to fulfil her wife's needs this morning, hell she wouldn't complain about be woken up like this every morning.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Although Ashley had woken up before the alarm, their love making this morning had made them late, not that either of them really minded. After rushing round the apartment like mad women, they were now just stepping out into the lab from the elevator. Stella glances at her watch.

"Made it in time. Just."

Ashley smiles as she remembers what they'd been doing to make them late. Mac see's them both and greets them warmly.

"Morning ladies."

Ashley leans over and gives him a kiss on the cheek, something she'd started doing since she found out he was her father.

"Hey pop's what's up?"

Mac smiled, he loved the little name Eden had taken to referring to him by, but professional as ever he needs to get them out on assignment.

"Stella, I need you with me, double homicide in Tribeca. Eden, I need you at an assault in Riverdale, the victim has been taken to the hospital, I'm not really sure what's going on, other than that he's been beaten pretty badly, and won't talk."

He's hands each woman a slip. "Oh and I need you to go solo on this one, everyone else is tied up."

Already intrigued by the case, Ashley is more than happy to work it solo, it's just an assault after all.

"Cool, right ill head now then." She smiles at them both and jumps immediately back onto the elevator she has just vacated. Stella and Mac disappear into the bowels of the lab, discussing their latest case.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Riverdale is one of New York's more suburban areas. Ashley gathered from the slip that Mac had handed her, that the victim was Bradley Green a 15 year old boy, but other than that the information was very vague. She decided to head over to the family home first to try and get a grasp on what had actually happened. Then she would head to the hospital.

When she knocks at the door to the spacious family home, she is surprised to be greeted by what she assumes are the boy's mother and father, she had thought at least one of them would be at the hospital with their son.

"Hi, my names Detective Eden Bonasera, I'm with the New York crime lab." She's smiles warmly at the parents, who to put it bluntly do not respond in the same manner.

The gentleman grunts at her.

"I'm Mr. Morris, this is my wife Mary. Can we help you detective?"

This surprises her no end, and she has to think for a second if she has the correct house, the victims surname isn't Morris.

"Erm, I'm here regarding the assault of Bradley Green. Do I have the correct address?" She starts pawing through her papers to double check the address. Mr Morris exhales loudly, which implies he is not remotely impressed.

"You've got the correct address." He sees the look of confusion on Ashley's face, and continues, "I'm Bradley's step father, that's why the names are different."

Well that explains one confusion, Ashley still has no idea why these parents are being so flippant though, one thing she does notice however, is that Mrs Morris, is letting her husband do the talking, she has been transfixed with her own feet, and hasn't made eye contact with Ashley at all, she files this away in her brain for later. The husband continues to speak.

"Bradley isn't here Detective, he's gone to the hospital, we told the other police officer that."

The lack of compassion oozing from this guy is starting to annoy Ashley; she decides to be as blunt as him.

"I am aware that Bradley is at the hospital, but the other police officer has only left me bare details, I'm not really sure what's happened. I was hoping you could give me an idea?"

She looks at them hopefully.

"Well he got beaten up." He looks straight at her as if she's stupid for wanting to know more than this, his reluctance to offer more information is making Ashley really start to wonder about this guy, that and the fact his wife appears to be terrified of him.

"Again I am aware of that Mr Morris, can you tell me where?"

"Nope he came home like it." Now the annoyance is apparent in his voice.

Ashley is clearly getting nowhere with this fool, she shakes her head, just then the telephone rings inside the house, Mrs Morris, head still firmly down, moves past her husband and disappears inside to answer, as she does the door opens slightly, and Ashley sees a lot of commotion at the top of the stairs, there seems to be broken glass or vase, and a number of things look out of place. This is starting to look like classic domestic violence.

Mr Morris see's Ashley eyeing up his stair case, and promptly pulls the door closed again.

"You should really talk to Bradley miss."

She decides if it is in fact domestic violence then she really isn't going to find anymore out from this guy.

"Right you are thanks for your time Mr Morris." She smiles and heads back to her SUV. Next stop the North Central Bronx Hospital.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley waltz's into Bradley's private hospital room. She is startled immediately by his appearance, brilliant blue eyes and dark brown hair, and of course lots of bruising, she smiles at the young man, he looks terrified.

"Hi Bradley, my name is Eden, I'm from the New York crime lab, I need to ask you a few questions if that's okay?"

The boy just nods, he looking at her curiously, like he's deciding if he can trust her or not. Ashley completely gets this, especially if her suspicions are correct.

"So what happened then Bradley?" She tries to keep her tone light.

"I fell over." Not a good start, Ashley pulls her camera out of her bag.

"How do you feel about having your photo taken?" She gestures the camera at him, and gives him her most brilliant smile, it works, she gets the slightest grin in return.

"I don't mind." He looks at her as he speaks, but quickly looks away again.

"Good. Don't worry you don't have to smile." Again this seems to have the desired effect and she gets a small smile from him.

She starts taking photos and chatting as she does.

"This is some fall you've taken here Bradley." No reaction. "You know I'm a crime scene investigator, if there's no crime, there's really no reason for me to be here?"

She sits on the end of his hospital bed, and scans his face for any show of emotion. All she sees is struggle, she can tell he wants to confide in her, but he's scared.

"Your Step Dad seems like quite a controlling guy, do you two get on." His reaction confirms to her that he is in fact the aggressor, Bradley immediately clenches, reverts right back into his shell. He won't talk now.

She carries on with the photos, she notices some bruising on his arms, and without thinking she grabs one to straighten it out for a clearer photo. She has never see anyone move so fast, the pace at which he moves his arm out of her reach and the look of pure panic and fear on his face, is as if she'd given him a thousand electric shocks. She knows the poor kid has just been beaten up, probably by his step dad, but even so, that was an overreaction, there is definitely something else going on here. She needs to calm him down, if she's going to get to the bottom of it. She uses her finest soothing voice.

"Hey relax; I just need to get photos of the bruises on your arms."

He reluctantly straightens his arm out and lets her take the photos. At this point Ashley notices the book he has brought with him, 'History of the English Premier League' Jackpot. Ashley loves sports, and due to having spent her childhood in Britain, none more so than soccer, this could be her 'in' with Bradley, a good way to try and get him to open up.

"Wow, you like soccer huh?"

His face actually lights up at the mention of the word.

"Yeah, I notice your accent, that's English right, do you like it?" his sentence is fast and enthusiastic.

"Yeah I grew up in England, I love soccer. Who's your team? If you say Manchester United, me and you can't be friends."

He grins. "No way. Liverpool."

Now it's Ashley's turn to grin. "Shake my hand. I don't often come across fellow reds out here?"

He shakes her hand energetically. Genuinely excited. "Have you ever been to Anfield?"

"Yeah, my grandpa took me a few times when I was a kid."

"Is the atmosphere as good as it looks?"

"It's better."

Bradley seems to get lost in his thoughts at this point. Ashley needs to broach the subject of the assault again.

"You know, if your step father did do this to you, I can help." He doesn't say anything, the sparkle immediately escapes his eyes, and looks down at the bed, almost holding his breath, Ashley can tell he wants to talk to her but daren't.

"You know if you're worried about telling me and then having to face him, don't be. We can protect you."

Still nothing, he doesn't even move. Ashley decides a change of tack is required.

"Okay Bradley, then I have no choice. I told you I'm a crime scene investigator. . ." she starts packing away her stuff as she's speaking. "Apparently I have nothing to investigate here, so I guess I'll be going."

The panic in him rises, he can't let her go, he watches as she slings her kit over her shoulder and heads for the door. She slips her hand around the knob and just as she about to twist, he shouts.

"Wait." Thank god for that, Ashley thought he was actually going to let her leave. She turns round and looks at him expectantly. He swallows hard, whatever he's about to say seems like it's going to be very difficult.

"It was my stepfather." Ashley watches him, it appears he hasn't finished, she lets him speak. He looks firmly away from her, "He raped me."

That was the last thing she was expecting, she feels like all the air has been knocked out of her, she looks at him, and for the second time that day, his appearance is the one thing that sticks in her mind. Those eyes, those big blue eyes, which now have tears falling from them. She swallows the wave of nausea that threatens to overtake her. She needs to be strong for him. He looks away, almost ashamed. She moves to him, gently touches him on the arm.

"I'm going to make sure that he goes away for this, for a very long time. But I need your help. Are you strong enough to help me?"

She speaks softly slowly and clearly, and makes sure she keeps eye contact with him at all times. He nods his head in response to the question.

"What do you need me to do?" he says it a lot more confidently than he must feel.

"Well first of all, I need you to tell me exactly what happened, and where it happened so I can process the scene." He nods indicating he is taking it all in.

"Then were gunna need to examine you." He looks confused, Ashley explains the best she can, she knows how incredibly courageous he is being right now. "It's a rape exam. The more evidence we get the better chance we have of putting him away."

"Will you do it? I don't want to see anyone else."

"Of course." She smiles and is elated when he smiles back, it seems at some point in their conversation she has grabbed his hand, she strokes it gently and then lets it go.

"I've gotta make a call and get some equipment. Are you gunna be okay."

"Yeah." He looks almost relieved.

Ashley quickly leaves the room, she calls Flack immediately and tells him to go and collect the parents from their house and take them back to the station, she doesn't really explain why, but Flack trusts her, so he will do it. She wouldn't be ready for them for a while, but she decided they could rot down at the precinct, plus she assumed she would probably need them to vacate the premises, the scene was more likely than not, somewhere in that house. When she hangs up on Flack she leans against the nearest wall, and struggles to breathe, Bradley's face haunting her.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Taking his statement had been harrowing, for Bradley of course, and for Ashley. Seems this isn't the first time his step father had abused him, but it was the first time Bradley had threatened to tell. Hence the beating he took, trying to beat the silence right into him. It had taken place in Bradley's bedroom, the room directly at the top of the stairs to the right. Ashley could have guessed.

After she had taken his statement, she bagged his clothes and collected trace from him. Then came the rape exam. It was horrendous, but ultimately worth it. She had found semen. All she needed now was a match. She gave Bradley some scrubs, he was being discharged from the hospital but obviously had nowhere to go so he was waiting at the hospital, with support worker while Ashley went and processed his room, even with the semen, she needs to bury Mr Morris, with the evidence, she doesn't want any risk of him getting away with this.

The room was a mess, Flack true to his word had taken the folks downtown so she had the house to herself. The first thing she noticed was the door, scratch marks on the outside, like someone had frantically been trying to get in, her mind wandered to the wife. The room itself was upside down, there had clearly been a struggle, Bradley wasn't a little boy he was 15 years old, she imagines he put up quite the fight. She collected semen samples from the sheets, nothing surprising there, he is a 15 year old boy after all. She knew if she could pin the step dads DNA to the sheets that would help the case.

When she was satisfied she had collected all of the evidence she could, she collected Bradley from the hospital and headed for the lab, and that's where they are now. She steps off the elevator with Bradley in tow, protective arm slung around his shoulder; they immediately bump into Stella and Adam. Stella wonders what on earth is going on and she's not backwards about being forward with Eden.

"Eden what the hell is going on?" Ashley just looks at her blankly hoping she will provide some sort of explanation as to why she appears to be so mad. Quickly too, Ashley is exhausted, physically and mentally, she feels drained.

"The Morris' have been here for hours, they aren't happy. In fact they're in there with Mac now; he's trying to convince them not to complain about you."

Ashley basically ignores Stella, her attention is taken by Macs office now, she strains her head to look, and sees the Morris' inside, and she feels the anger rise immediately. She removes her arm from Bradley and looks at Adam.

"Adam, this is Bradley, he's a Liverpool fan, so look after him okay."She smiles, but she doesn't really mean it. "Will you take him to one of the smaller labs, one of the quieter ones?"

"Okay." Adam doesn't really understand what's going on, but like most of her colleagues he trusts her implicitly so he asks no questions. Ashley turns to Bradley.

"This is Adam, he's one of my best friends, and I would trust him with my life. You okay to go with him?"

Ashley is acutely aware, that recent events may mean he doesn't want to be left alone with a guy. But Bradley lets her words wash over her, and eyes Adam suspiciously, again Adam just looks perplexed. Bradley nods, and follows Adam.

Stella has watched her wife with interest, she's managed to get attached to this boy, in less than a day, something they're taught to never do, something Eden is way too professional to let happen. Something is obviously very wrong with her. Ashley has been retrieving a DNA swab kit from her kit whilst Stella has been observing her, which intrigues her further.

She repeats her earlier plea, this time softly. "Eden, sweetie what's going on?" Eden looks at her, and Stella immediately sees the pain in eyes and for the first time takes in just how weary, how tired she looks, now she's worried.

Ashley just shakes her head. "I don't have time for this right now Stella."

She strides in the direction of Mac's office, Stella not satisfied with being fobbed off so abruptly, follows her at a pace. Ashley doesn't bother knocking, just storms straight in, three sets of eyes immediately on her. Mac can tell she is angry; it appears her anger is matched by Mr Morris. He erupts.

"Oh here she is. You've finally bothered to show up then. Do you know my wife and I have been here for almost 5 hours? Nice of you to finally show up."

Ashley glances over at Mrs Morris, once more her eyes are firmly looking south, she flinches a little when her husband raises his voice. Stella watches the scene unfolding with great interest; clearly Mrs Morris is scared of her husband. He continues, voice still very much raised.

"Well are you going to stand there gawping all day, or are you going to offer an explanation?"

She ignores the question, she holds up the swab. "I need a DNA sample. To eliminate you from my enquiries." In reality she means 'to send you to prison for a very long time.' It takes all she has to be professional.

"I know my rights miss. Do you have a warrant?" Of course he wasn't going to volunteer the sample; he's as guilty as sin. Ashley doesn't have a warrant, she could get one, easily with the evidence she has, hell she could get an arrest warrant, but she doesn't want Bradley to suffer anymore, she wants the bastard now. Drastic action required. Stella see's the look on Eden's face, and she's almost certain she isn't going to like whatever happens next.

"What are your views on homosexuals?" This takes everybody in the room by surprise; even Mrs Morris for the first time that day lifts her head in shock. Mac senses that a line is about to be crossed.

"Eden what are you doing?" Mac doesn't get an answer, as Mr Morris' rage is about to take off.

"What?" He rises from his seat, Stella gets ready to pounce.

"You heard me." Ashley is cocky and confident in her response, and gives Mr Morris a look he would love to knock off of her face. His panic is manifesting as rage, and he gets lost in it, he practically spits his response.

"I hate them." Now Mac and Stella are taken aback by the venom in his voice. Ashley doesn't flinch, just continues, making sure she is wearing her cockiest smile.

"You know they say that hatred can be a sign of latent tendencies." She draws out the last word, and raises her eyebrows as she says it, it has the desired effect, he goes off like a rocket, Mac and Stella are so confused as to what's going on, and they don't react quickly enough. The red mist has descended, and launches himself at Ashley, hands immediately round her throat and he starts to choke her over Macs desk.

"Mac." It comes out as almost a squeal as Stella begins to panic and jumps on him; Mac is round the table within seconds and joins Stella in trying to pull him off. Ashley is gasping for breath now, luckily Flack has seen the commotion in the office and runs in, and between the three of them they manage to get him off. They pull him up Flack holds one arm behind his back, Mac the other, Ashley gasps for air, but quickly regains her composure.

She takes the swab from the DNA kit, and calmly walks over to Mr Morris, it dawns on him what she has done.

"You're under arrest for assaulting a police officer. I'll take my DNA sample now."

She swabs the inside of his cheek. He lets her, there's nothing he can do, and he knows it's over. Stella looks at her wife in disbelief; she is obviously more emotionally involved than she first thought if she going to those lengths to get a DNA sample, she can't believe her behaviour.

"Flack, take him to interview, I'll be down in twenty minutes."

Again confused he does as Ashley says. She really does appreciate everyone doing as she asks, she knows it's not gunna cut it much longer with Stella and Mac, they will want an explanation soon enough. They will have to wait though. She heads for the small lab Adam is in, worried Stella follows her. Starting to feel a little like her wife's shadow.

She hands Adam the DNA sample she has just collected, and the other samples she collected earlier today.

"I need you to compare these samples, ASAP. I really need you to make this top priority Adam." He picks up on the weariness in her voice.

"I'll do it right away." He takes the samples and gets straight to work, she looks over at Bradley.

"Hey how you holding up?"

"Good, thanks." Satisfied she smiles.

"This is almost over" He nods his head and smiles back. "I won't be long. Adam page me."

He nods his head too; it's all he can manage, no fully engrossed in the samples now.

She heads out of the lab, and bumps straight into Stella. She does not look happy. She isn't, she looks at her wife's neck, the red marks now turning purple and blue, tears sting her eyes.

"Eden, you have just let a man throttle you, for a DNA sample. What the hell is going on with you?"

She hates that Stella is so upset, but she needs her to trust her a little longer. "I promise you I will explain all of this later. Trust me."

Stella can tell Eden is on the verge of tears. So she lets her be. "Okay. I love you."

It always amazes Ashley that Stella can tell instantly what she needs, and almost always provides it, that was exactly what she needed to hear. She pulls Stella into a hug, and swallows the emotion she feels.

"I love you too." She whispers it into Stella's hair. But Stella hears it, and it's all she needs. For now.

**XXXXXXXX**

Armed with the DNA results, which prove conclusively that Mr Morris did in fact rape his step son, Ashley heads for the interview room. Flack is in there waiting for her, Stella and Mac, out of enormous concern for Eden, are watching with great interest on the other side of the observation mirror. Ashley strides in, she slams the cup of coffee she has with her down on the table, which makes Flack jump. Her eyes never leave Mr Morris, and he knows the game is up.

"How are we going to play this Mr Morris? Quick confession, or are you going to make me work a little harder for it?"

She is still standing but is leaning over the table palms flat, her eyes burning a hole in Morris, Flack hasn't said a word yet, he has a feeling his confusion is about to be lifted. He has never seen Eden so involved in a case. Morris exhales deeply.

"I beat the boy."

Unbelievable, he's a coward to the very last, leaving out a very significant part of his attack.

"Nothing more to say Mr Morris?" She gives him a chance to redeem his cowardice; it doesn't appear he is going to take up her offer. So she pulls the results Adam has just provided her with from the folder, and starts to explain frantically, emotion threatening to take over.

"This is the sample of DNA I took from you earlier." She lays out the sheet for him to look at. She swallows hard. "This is a sample if semen I collected from your step son's bed sheets." Another sheet gets laid out in front of him. "This is a sample of semen I collected when I did a rape exam on your step son." She lays the final sheet on the table.

Morris looks at the sheets, more because he's too ashamed to look up, than actually taking any of the information in. Flack is starting to understand Ashley's rage.

"They all match." She is really struggling to keep her composure now, but manages it. "How long have you been raping your step son Mr Morris?"

The question lingers in the air. Morris has a small outbreak of rage, and smashes his hand against the desk with all his might, Ashley doesn't even flinch. He obviously realises he's in enough trouble as it is, so puts a lid on his anger.

"That boy was so out of control, he pushed me to my edge, one too many times."

Ashley is appalled, she can't even formulate a sentence, has he really just tried to use that as an excuse. The silence in the room, spurs him on to look up, when he does he catches the appalled faces of both Ashley and Flack. Pathetically the next thing to drip out of his mouth is, "It's not something I'm proud of."

Ashley laughs exasperated. "No. I imagine it's not."

"What will happen now?"

She doesn't know why she's surprised at his colossal selfishness. Obviously his first concern will be for his own welfare. Ashley enjoys her next sentence.

"Well, you're going to prison for a very long time. With any luck, inmates will discover what you're in for, and you'll get a taste of your own discipline. Flack, book him."

Ashley immediately vacates the room; she can't stand to be anywhere near him anymore. Stella and Mac look at each other, they understand more why Eden has been so effected by the case, but even so, they have dealt with rapists and paedophiles before, and Eden had never had such a strong emotional reaction, Stella is convinced there is more to it.

Ashley had headed straight back up to the main lab, onto her next mission of an incredibly disturbing day. The mother. She needed to ascertain just how involved she was. How much she knew. She found her still sitting patiently in Mac's office. Not for the first time today Ashley takes a deep breath, and steadies herself for what lies ahead. She walks in closing the door behind her. She sits in Mac's chair and gently smiles at Mrs Morris.

Ashley fears about Mrs Morris maybe being involved are all swept aside with the older ladies first sentence, which she delivers teary eyed, but with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Is it over?"

Ashley smiles, relieved more than anything, and just states simply. "Yes."

Ashley speaks to Mary at length; she is appalled at the level of abuse she and her family had been subjected too. Apparently she was his punching bag to begin with, when Bradley stepped in to try and help his mother, Morris decided he was getting too big for his boots, and put him in his place, then Mary would try and step in to save her son, another beating would come her way, the vicious circle well and truly in process. She had brought Bradley into the room, to make sure he was comfortable to go home with his mum. He was. All in all the three of them were in Mac's office for around an hour, the majority of the team, all worried about Ashley have congregated outside in the hallway, waiting for her to emerge.

They don't have to wait long, Ashley holds the door open, and lets mother and son exit the office, she smiles as they say their goodbyes. Mary takes Ashley's hand.

"Thank you." It's the first time Ashley has seen a genuine smile on her face. She walks over to the elevator, to wait for her son, giving him privacy to speak to Ashley.

He shuffles his feet, nervous, when he eventually looks up, Ashley swallows hard, his features imprinted in her brain.

"I just wanted to say. I would never have done this without you." Ashley is slightly taken aback by his statement, which must be apparent from her face; he smirks and tries to explain himself.

"I mean, there was just something about you, I knew I could trust you. I knew you wouldn't let me down. I could tell the first time you looked at me, that you'd fight my corner. I can't explain it. But thank you."

Ashley just nods; this case has really taken it out of her. He hugs her, and she embraces him, the emotion of the day threatening to spill out, tears almost spilling over. She pulls back; she needs this conversation to end quickly, before she has an emotional breakdown right here in the middle of the lab.

"You're more than welcome. Don't forget to hit me up and we'll go watch a Liverpool match, in that sports bar I was telling you about."

"You're on." He happily joins his mother and exits into the elevator. Ashley turns round, tears still exceptionally close to falling; she is faced by the entire team, Stella and Mac looking particularly worried. Ashley's not sure she can handle the inquisition just yet; it doesn't seem Stella cares much about that. She touches her gently on the arm.

"Are you going to tell me what's been going on?" Ashley really can't speak, if she explains she knows she will lose it, not something she wants to do with all the team around, in fact Ashley is pretty annoyed Stella has brought this up right now.

Stella is not going to let this drop. "Sweetie something is going on here. Why can't you tell me?"

Ashley looks up into Stella's eyes, pleading with her not to push this anymore.

"Hey." All the eyes are immediately drawn to the voice, it appears the mystery voice is someone who has just stepped of the elevator, the 'hey' was filled with excitement. As soon as Stella and Mac saw the boy, 15 years old, piercing blue eyes, dark brown hair, it could have been Bradley Green, the resemblance was striking. But it wasn't Bradley Green, as soon as Stella and Mac saw him, the penny dropped, they knew exactly why Eden had been so affected, Stella feels so stupid, how did she not pick up on this before? It was Zane Parker.

Ashley's half brother was in New York to visit his sister for the first time, just like she had promised back at their mother's funeral. His excitement is tempered slightly when he sees the look on Eden face; she looks like she is going to burst into tears. She just pulls him into a hug, and hugs him as if she will never let go, he hugs back just as much, he doesn't know what's happened, but he knows she needs this, she pulls back slightly and kisses him on the forehead. She looks at the team, the majority of which still aren't sure what's going on, until Ashley speaks, voice thick with emotion.

"Guys, this is my little brother Zane."

There's almost a collective 'oh it all makes sense now' look on the face of the whole team. Ashley just pulls him in for another hug, she can't get the thought out of her head, it could have been him, they were so alike, it was almost like it was him, a tear rolls down her cheek at the thought, Mac can see she is on the verge of losing it.

"Zane, why don't you come with me, we'll get you something to eat, and you can tell me all about your flight."

Zane still highly confused, releases his sister, and follows Mac, no questions asked; Eden is obviously very upset about something. Ashley is grateful to Mac for taking Zane away, but she can't hold it in any longer, the sobs just start to vibrate through her body, Stella just grabs her and holds her, her heart breaks.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After an emotional day, Ashley, Stella and Zane, headed home. Zane had crashed and burned from the travelling already and was snoring his head off in their spare room. Ashley as usual when she's feeling emotional is out on the balcony, Stella joins her, still feeling pretty stupid.

"I should have picked up on it sooner." Ashley is brought from her thoughts by Stella's words, she is slightly startled she hadn't realised she had joined her; she smiles, and puts her arm around her pulling her into her body.

"Don't be silly, you've only met him once."

Stella gets lost in her thoughts. "The resemblance was uncanny."

Ashley laughs a little dejectedly. "I know." She immediately looks down onto the road below. Stella picks up on this; she can tell her wife is still in a strange mood.

"Is that all that's bothering you?"

Since Stella pulled her up on her always running away and not sharing her feelings, she has been a lot better at talking to her.

"I'm waiting for things to go wrong." Ashley feels pretty stupid, she again becomes mesmerised by the city street below.

"What do you mean?" Stella is authentically puzzled.

"Things always go wrong for me, and just recently, I've been so happy." Again although she initially looks up at Stella, as she says the words, she feels embarrassed for even feeling this way. Her head drops again.

"Sweetie." Stella says it in an extremely sympathetic voice, whilst snuggling further into her wife's embrace.

"I know, it's ridiculous. And if today's taught me anything, it's that I can't sit around waiting for things to go wrong. Life is too short."

"Listen to me, I think you've dealt with enough crap in your life, you've had more than your fair share. Way more." Stella is quite passionate in her summation.

Ashley just nods. Stella's not sure she quite believes her acceptance.

"Hey, you are a good person, who deserves nothing but good things okay."

"Well I've got you. I guess I just feel like I've been spoiled." She gives Stella a geeky smile; she's aware of how cheesy that was.

Stella grins. "I'm the one who's been spoiled."

**XXXXXXXXX **

**PLEASE REVIEW, OR SEND ME FEEDBACK ON TWITTER Eden_Ashley_Chr **


	25. Chapter 25

**AGAIN, AS USUAL IT'S BEEN A WHILE, SORRY ABOUT THAT. IT'S QUITE A LONG CHAPTER, AND THERE'S MORE TO COME, HOPEFULLY A LITTLE QUICKER THAN THIS ONE! AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

It was almost three years ago that Eden Ashley had come waltzing into her life. She'll never forget the day she walked into the main lab with Mac, Stella was so pissed. She giggles as she remembers, looking back now, with hindsight it's clear to her, that Eden was under her skin from the first second they met.

Now here they are a month away from celebrating a year of marriage, and Stella could not be happier. It's Sunday, and although she is on call, she and Eden have a rare day off together. Eden is currently making the most of this, and is still sleeping in their matrimonial bed, hardly surprising, they had quite a late night last night, Stella smiles as she recalls what they got up to, as soon as they got through the apartment door, clothes were discarded, they didn't actually make it to the bedroom, the first time.

Stella's cheeks blush as she allows her mind to wander; she always thought sex drive diminished with marriage, that certainly had not been the case for her. She wonders if this is because it is her first relationship with a woman, she had a lot to learn, and was certainly enjoying her lessons, and loving her teacher. She can't believe she had ever worried about that particular aspect of her relationship with Eden. She chuckles again as she looks out over New York City, she is in her wife's favourite place out on the balcony, and starts to think about what they can get up to today.

Her thoughts are short lived; she hears her cell phone ringing from the bedroom, and dejectedly makes her way to answer it. It appears that the shrill ringing has woken up her beautiful wife, as by the time she gets to the bedroom, Eden has answered the phone, and is tiredly chatting to whoever is on the other side, Stella assumes Mac. She takes a moment to take in the sight before her. Eden is sitting up in bed, naked, the sheets only covering part of her modesty, but most beautiful, is how adorable she looks; she always looks so cute when she first wakes up.

Stella can't help the grin that erupts onto her face at the vision in front of her. Ashley hangs up the phone, and thinks either her wife has finally cracked up, or she has something on her face. Stella is wearing the most insanely beautiful smile.

"Is everything okay?" Ashley has to ask, she needs to know what's put the smile on Stella's face.

"Everything is absolutely perfect." She lowers herself onto the bed, and pulls Eden in for a kiss. Ashley, as much as she doesn't want to, pulls back, if she didn't they'd be here all day.

"Yeah well don't get too comfy, you've gotta go to work." The frown that appears on Stella's face is amusing as is the small groan that accompanies it. "That was Mac, some murder that could be linked to a serial. Said he might need me later too. So we might get to spend the day together after all."

Stella smirks at her wife's obvious attempt at humour, she supposes the one good thing about working all the time, is at least they work together, so they still get to see each other. Stella skulks off to the shower, she guesses the sooner she gets to work the sooner she can get back.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella had arrived at work about an hour ago, Mac had realised quite quickly that the current murder that they were investigating, was the same MO as a serial killer from six years ago, back then he had plied his trade in Detroit, and unbelievably Eden had worked the case. It seems Stella will be spending the day with her wife; she is on her way in as they speak, but she hadn't been the lead on the case. Mac had immediately called Alex Santiago, she was Eden's supervisor at the time, and command on the case, she is also on her way, and her flight should be landing any second.

Eden and Alex caught the guy and put him away for life, but he was reported escaped a few months ago, the prison van that was transporting him to a doctor's appointment, was involved in an accident, although this term was used lightly. This latest murder has all the hallmarks of Daniel 'The Jackal' Garcia. If indeed it is the handy work of the Jackal, then they can be certain, that this current murder is the first of many, and they need to act fast, as he is renowned for moving rather quickly himself, a second victim is inevitable unfortunately.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is relatively pissed off, firstly at getting called in on her day off, on a Sunday to boot, but mostly at the fact that the incompetent prison service appear to have released a mad man into the wild. She storms into the main lab, frustrated, but adamant that she will do everything in her power to get the lunatic behind bars again, where he belongs.

As she strides into the lab, she is met immediately by three pairs of eyes, it seems Mac is taking this very seriously, as well as Mac and Stella; it appears Danny will also be working the case. Good, the more people the better, as far as Ashley is concerned. She is eager to get going.

"What do we know?"

Mac is straight into business mode, answering Eden's question, he can see a rugged determination in her eyes.

"Well he escaped about a week ago; this is the first victim that has turned up showing evidence of his trademarks."

"Meaning?" Ashley needs confirmation.

Mac sighs, "The eyes were removed and a love heart drawn in blood on the victims chest."

Now it's Ashley's turn to sigh. It certainly sounds like the jackal. She knows what she's about to say is unlikely, in light of Garcia's recent escape.

"Is there any chance it's a copy cat?"

Mac can tell Eden knows the answer to the question, and its more pure hope than expectation that she even articulated it.

"I think its unlikely Eden. But you and Detective Santiago are the experts, so perhaps you can shed more light."

Ashley's head snaps up at Mac's words, and the shocked expression on her face doesn't go unnoticed by Stella, nor does the fact she stumbles over her next words.

"Detective Santiago, is coming here? Is that really necessary? I mean I worked on the case too."

Mac who apparently hasn't noticed Eden's surprise, mainly because he's thumbing through the file as he's speaking, answers Eden nonchalantly.

"Well she's was lead on the case Eden, you know how it works. Plus she's already on route."

Not for the first time in this particular lab, Ashley feels light headed, like someone has tampered with the oxygen level in the room. Before she has a chance to protest, the lab door swings open again, and four sets of eyes look at the newcomer. They are greeted by a quite beautiful, dark haired olive skined, brown eyed woman, in her late thirties. Ashley's heart jumps into her throat, she is nervous, those familiar brown eyes tear right through her, Alex is wearing a confident smile that Ashley has definitely seen before, and which terrifies her. Stella is watching the two of them intently; these two were obviously more than just work colleagues. It seems Detective Santiago will be the one to break the awkward silence.

"Hello Eden." There's that confident smile again, it makes Ashley swallow hard, although she finds her throat is surprisingly dry.

Stella notices that Eden, immediately puts her hands behind her back, but she cannot understand why? As this thought continues to baffle her, it seems like Eden is going to respond.

"Detective Santiago. Good to see to again."

The wall that Stella had seen Eden put up many times before was in full force, it seems Detective Santiago has seen this wall many times before also, as she just laughs and shakes her head at Eden, before turning her back on her completely, and starting to talk shop.

Ashley chances looking over at Stella, she knows she can read her like a book, and will have seen how uncomfortable she was at being reunited with Alex. She was right, Stella's eyes are boring holes into her, she can't take it anymore, and just exits the room. Stella worried, turns to focus on what this newcomer, who it seems, is about to shake her world a little has to say.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The day had progressed well, Eden and Alex's input from the first time round had proved invaluable, and although they still hadn't caught the Jackal, they are sure he knows they are onto him, there have been no more murders, and they are confident it's only a matter of time before they catch him. Stella couldn't get her mind away from Eden and Alex's relationship, Eden had never mentioned her before, but Alex could barely look at Eden, and her wife looked almost ashamed. She had also removed her wedding ring, something which had really annoyed Stella. It appears that she is going to get to vent her annoyance as Eden strolls into her office, and sits in the chair opposite.

"Some day huh?" Eden has no idea how irritated Stella is at her. Stella cannot keep a lid on it.

"'Some day huh?'" Ashley is shocked by Stella's tone. "Seriously, that's all you've got to say to me?"

Well it appears Stella is angry. She had been so engrossed in the case; this morning's awkward encounter had momentarily slipped from her mind, not anymore. The look of shame immediately hits her face again. Stella see's it instantly.

"What the hell is going on Eden?"

"I will explain everything when see's gone."

Stella can't wait that long. "No Eden. I want you to explain now. I want you to explain why you've taken off your wedding ring."

Of course she noticed. I'm such an idiot; Ashley still can't bring herself to give the actual explanation, so she quietly blurts out a feeble excuse.

"You know I take them off when I'm working." She pulls on the chain round her neck, which has both her wedding ring and engagement ring nestled on, to stress to Stella that she still has them on her. Stella isn't impressed.

"No, you take them off if you're on a messy scene, which you haven't been today." She stands from her position behind the desk. Exasperated. "God Eden, you don't even take them off in the shower, but as soon as she walks into a room, you hide your hand, and the next time I see you, you've removed them completely? I will ask you again, what the hell is going on."

Ashley still can't bring herself to explain, she just looks down at the floor, hoping it will swallow her up. Stella's patience finally breaks.

"Fine, if you won't tell me I'll ask her." Stella practically runs out of her office, before Ashley's brain can process what's going on Stella is out the door, panic rises in Ashley, and she follows her without delay.

Stella doesn't have far to go, Alex Santiago is in the corridor with Danny, Stella sees Mac is also loitering, but she still can't stop herself.

Alex smiles as she see's Stella coming towards her, although the smile doesn't last long when she sees the expression on her face, she looks furious, Eden is also about five steps behind her, looking less furious, more terrified, it looks like all is about to be explained, Stella starts to speak, well its practically a shout.

"Can you please explain to me, why my wife is hiding the fact that she's married from you?"

Okay, now Alex is really confused, so much for the explanation.

"I'm sorry; I have no idea what you're talking about?" Stella can see from her expression that she is obviously telling the truth. She takes a deep breath, and tries to explain a little more calmly.

"My wife, Eden Ashley Bonasera, is hiding her wedding ring from you, can you please explain why? Because she seems to be incapable of doing so."

Ashley's heart sinks. Stella watches as the expression on Detective Santiago's face changes from one of quiet confidence to one of pure unadulterated pain. She looks straight past Stella at Eden. Stella still has no idea what's going on, but it appears her wife isn't going to come out of this smelling of roses.

"You're married." Its barely a whisper as it leaves Santiago's lips, and it more a statement, than a question, Stella can see tears filling up, not just in her eyes, but in Eden's too, they both just stand there looking each other directly in the eyes.

Pain is replaced by anger on Alex's face, now she's furious, she moves past Stella, towards Eden, who braces herself, she is almost certain whatever happens next will not be nice. She's right; she feels a flash of pain down her left cheek. Alex has slapped her with all her might; it's the least she deserves. She just takes it, doesn't try to protect herself, doesn't retaliate, just takes it. The slap has taken the others by surprise, no one's really sure what's going own. Stella's main worry is that her wife's been cheating on her, something she would never have thought possible, until this scene had played out in front of her eyes, she feels sick. But more than that she feel scared, terrified to her very soul.

Alex fully intended on fleeing, she had turned and started to move away from Eden, to do just that, but the anger she has building inside of her stops her, she needs to vent, she needs to make Eden feel even smaller than she no doubt already does. She turns back, Stella Mac and Danny all still watching intently.

"You're married." Again as she says it she can't believe it. "You spent seven years telling me that you couldn't commit, and now you're married?"

This time it was a question, not that Eden looked capable of providing her with an answer anytime soon. Stella calms a little; it seems her wife hasn't been cheating on her. Alex can't stop the flow of words falling from her mouth, nor can she hide the malice.

"Seven year's you told me it wasn't me, it was you. That you'd be alone for ever, that you'd never want to settle down." The tears are flowing freely now. Ashley has regained the ability to speak.

"I was always honest with you; I told you I didn't want anything serious."

"No Eden, you told me you were incapable of anything serious, after what happened with Katy. And now you're married." There's that sentence again. Alex is really on a roll now.

"You knew I was falling in love with you, you knew when I was in love you. You did nothing. You just kept stringing me along. You knew I was staying with you in the hope you would love me back. I forgave you everything you ever did to me."

"I'm sorry." Ashley truly is, she's aware of the kind of person she was before, and she hates herself for it, and for hurting Alex as much as she did. Now it's almost as if they have forgotten where they are, they've forgotten that, they're not the only one's there, that there are three other sets of eyes firmly on them. They continue, in their own little world.

"You're sorry? I really thought we could have something special you know. I remember the first time you stayed over, after three years of us sleeping together, and you leaving straight away. You finally stayed over, and I got my hopes up. Then you got scared again, and slept with someone else. And like an idiot I forgave you. I always forgave you, all those other women, I always forgave you. Because I loved you."

Ashley knows there is nothing she can say to make any of it right. She hates herself right now, for how she's acted, and she's so ashamed that her past is being relayed to the people who are a part of her current life. Alex still is going it seems.

"Do you know how hard it was for me when you left?"

Another thing that Ashley knows is not going to paint her in a good light. It seems that all of Ashley's skeletons are unquestionably coming out of the closet today.

"You didn't even tell me you were going. Do you know how humiliated I was when I got to work, and asked where you were, to be told that you'd taken a job in New York, and you'd left already? I didn't think you could hurt me anymore. But I gave you seven years of my life, and you were so adamant you couldn't commit, and then I come here. You've been here for less than three years, and you're married?"

Alex laughs, it's all see can do to not completely lose herself to tears. Now she does need to get away, she heads for the exit, where she'll go from there, she has no idea, Danny has the urge to follow her and make sure she's alright, so he heads in the direction of the exit too. Leaving a tear stained Ashley and a shocked Stella and Mac. Stella can't believe that Alex was talking about her wife; she can't believe the woman she loves could be so cruel. She can't cope with it all at the moment; she storms off to her office. Ashley just watches her go, what a mess.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Alex had made her way to the roof. She was angry, but more than anything she was devastated. When Eden arrived in Detroit, over ten years ago now, they had hit it off instantly. It didn't take long for them to fall into bed, and although Eden had warned her not to, it didn't take long for her to fall completely in love with her.

It wasn't that Eden didn't love her back, she could cope with that, because she had always said, she would never love anyone after Katy. She could handle Eden not loving her, because she thought that she would never love anyone. Obviously that was no longer the case, not only was she in love with someone else, but she was committed enough to get married. And all this in less than three years, when she had tried her utmost for almost seven. This was killing her.

She heard the roof door catch, and looked over to see Danny had joined her, they had got on straight away, and continued to bond throughout the day, so it was no surprise he had followed her, she tries in vain to wipe the tears from her eyes. Danny takes no notice of the tears; he just pulls her into a hug.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really."

The sobs come full flow again, Danny shushes her and kisses the top of her head, before hugging her even more tightly.

Alex can't help but hate this. Eden has a perfect life here, a wife, a great team around her, good friends. All of the things she had wanted to give her back in Detroit. The emotion she is feeling is quickly subsiding, in Danny's warm embrace the upset feeling is quickly disbanding, and a steely resolve takes over her, if Eden couldn't be happy and have that lifestyle with her, then she couldn't have it with anyone.

The tears have stopped now, Alex has quickly stopped feeling sorry for herself. Sorrow has been replaced as the main thing on her mind by revenge. And she would enjoy it.

Meanwhile back down in the lab, Ashley has managed to compose herself, and as bad as she feels for Alex, her main concern is Stella, and the look of utter disgust she gave her as she was retreating to her office. Ashley as she has done many times before, walks into Stella's office, never before has she felt as apprehensive as she does now.

Stella looks up, and sighs, not a good sign. Ashley takes a seat and just looks down at the desk, while she tries to think of a good place to start, to try and explain. Stella can't wait.

"Was everything she said true?"

Ashley looks up, and immediately wishes she hadn't, the disappointment in Stella's face kills her. She knows she has to be honest.

"Yes." The shame as she says it is clear.

"You're a cheat?" Not for the first time Ashley can't bring herself to answer.

"And a heartless one at that. Who are you? I feel like I don't know you anymore."

Ashley immediately panics. She has to explain herself, Stella has to understand. She starts to frantically try to clarify.

"I was 22 when I arrived in Detroit; Katy hadn't even been dead for two years. I told Alex I wasn't capable of anything serious, and she said she understood that."

Stella cuts her off. "You were with her for seven years, are you telling me you didn't know she was in love with you? You should have finished with her as soon as you knew it was more than just a fling. Instead you strung her along for seven years. Seven years Eden."

"My head was so messed up."

Stella believes it probably was to begin with, but she finds it hard to believe that it still was seven years down the line. Her brain quickly switches to the other aspect of the story that had her in disbelief.

"After seven years." She can't help but emphasize the length of time again; it's like a dagger through Eden's heart. Stella continues. "Did you really just up and leave for New York without telling her?"

Ashley feels her eyes filling up again, of course if she could do it all again, she would do it all differently, but at the time, it was all so consuming she just had to get away, for herself, she didn't really think too much about how Alex was feeling, she realises now just how selfish she had been. Her wife is still waiting for an answer.

"Yes."

"And have you spoken to her since?" Stella has to know just how much of a self-centred coward her wife has been.

"No." Ashley's eyes are now firmly engrossed with the floor again.

"So you were with this woman, for seven years, you just up and leave, and then don't speak to her for three. Don't even have the decency to tell her you've met someone else, and gotten married?"

Ashley doesn't really know how to verbalise why she did what she did, she was a different person back then. She was a mess. Truth be told she was still a mess when she arrived in New York; the first time her life started to make sense again was when she met Stella. And yes she should have told Alex they were getting married, but Detroit, and the aftermath of Katy's murder really was the lowest she's ever been, and it hadn't been somewhere she had wanted to revisit, at all. Before she has a chance to try and say any of this to Stella, she speaks first.

Stella is confused, is this still the woman she married. She needs time alone to think, to try and get her head round everything, and without thinking about bad it might sound.

"I can't believe you would be so unkind. I need time to think."

Ashley panics. "Stella."

Stella ignores her, and heads for the door, just before she gets there she turns back to face Eden, who looks absolutely devastated.

"I don't want you to come home tonight. I need to be alone."

And with that final statement, Stella leaves the room, and Ashley's heart feels like its stopped beating.

**XXXXXXXX**

Well the happy news for the day was that they had apprehended the Jackal, and he was in secure police custody, quite a result. Unhappily nothing has improved on a personal level for Ashley, Stella hadn't been able to make eye contact with her for the rest of the day, and she just left and went home when shift was over.

Ashley can't quite believe her rapid change in fortunes, this morning she had been so happy. Now, she is dying inside. She does what she does best in this kind of situation; she had grabbed her boys and hit a bar. That's where they are now, Ashley, Adam and Flack, all nursing beers; it had taken the two of them a lot of effort to get Ashley to not have something stronger.

"Are you sure she told you not to go home?"

Ashley and Flack both just look at Adam in disbelief, neither however has the energy or the inclination to come up with a sarcastic response, so instead they just take a swig of beer.

The three of them are all surprised to see Danny roll up to their table beer in hand, he seems to have taken quite the shine to Alex today, Ashley was almost certain he would also have a problem with her. But he just sits down in silence, and joins the rest of them in taking a swig of beer. It seems like quiet contemplation is the order of the day. That is until Ashley simply can't keep this particular question to herself anymore.

"She's going to forgive me right?" She looks up hopefully at the three guys. "Stella I mean."

The three guys take pity on her, and to be fair although they can understand Stella's current feelings, there's not a chance they could see the two of them not working it out. Flack voices what all three of them are thinking.

"Of course she will Ash. It's just a bit of shock, to think you were ever like that." It was a shock to them all, so it must have been ten times more shocking to Stella.

They stayed there like that for quite some time, truth be told Ashley is now a little tipsy, as are the rest of the guys, the sombre mood had lifted about 5 drinks previously and the usual banter had taken over. Although Ashley was still terrified about her marriage, she knows there's nothing she can do about it tonight, so she may as well try to have a good time.

Even though it seems that the good times maybe about to come to an abrupt end. Alex walks up to the table, everybody instantly stops talking. Alex can tell she has brought an atmosphere to the group; she smiles at Danny who quickly returns it, before she speaks.

"Eden can I talk to you please? In private."

Ashley looks at the guys, without saying a word she slides off her bar stool and follows Alex out into the street. Alex takes a seat on the curb, and Ashley mirrors her actions sitting down next to her. They both stare at the road, neither really knowing what to say. Ashley decides she should be the one to start; after all, this is all her fault.

"I'm sorry. I know you probably don't believe me, but I am."

Alex smiles. "I believe you."

Now it's Ashley's turn to smile. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to cause any trouble between you and Stella." The truth is she's not really sorry but she's trying hard to put her plan for revenge into action.

"You didn't, that was all me too. I should have been honest with her, and I should have been honest with you about coming to New York."

"You and I was never going to work Eden, deep down I always knew that. You were just so hard to let go. You probably did me a favour coming to New York, nothing gives you closure quite like a 600 mile distance."

She chuckles, but it's tinged with sadness. "Do you think the two of you will be okay?"

Ashley frowns. "I hope so." She looks up at Alex for the first time, into those deep brown eyes. Alex almost gets lost in Eden's sea of blue; so much emotion is on show in those eyes. She snaps out of it, now is her chance. She puts her hand onto Eden's face, and strokes her cheek, all the time never breaking eye contact. Encouragingly Eden doesn't look away either. Now or never she guesses. She moves closer, and leans in, their lips meet momentarily.

Ashley is torn, the last thing she wants to do is hurt Alex even more, but there's no way in hell she is going to cheat on her wife. Rather than pull away she moves her head down, moving her lips away from Alex' and quietly and as gently as she can she utters,

"Don't."

Alex should have known really. "Wow you really have changed."

"I love her." This is like a knife to the heart for Alex.

Ashley picks herself up off the pavement and starts to re-enter the bar, she turns back to Alex, still feeling pretty terrible and not really wanting to leave her sitting there, alone, on the curb.

"Hey, when's your flight back to Detroit?"

Alex looks up slightly startled that Eden is still there. "Erm, not until the morning."

"You wanna have a drink with us?"

Alex can't believe it; Eden is giving her another opportunity to put her plan into action. She just smiles, rises from the curb and follows Eden back into the club. This night could turn out to be an interesting one after all.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Last night had gone on into the small hours, and in all fairness Ashley, Adam, Flack, Danny and Alex had a brilliant night. But Ashley in particular was more than a little wasted by the end of it. She had woken up in a random hotel close to the bar, and consequently close to work, thank god. It appeared Adam hadn't made it home either, Ashley found him asleep on the futon in the room. They are both feeling exceptionally fragile this morning, but Ashley was determined to get into work as quickly as possible. She needed to see Stella, and make sure her marriage was going to be okay.

Stella is in the main lab, she had the worst night's sleep ever last night, she hated not having Eden with her. That coupled with the fact that she's now almost certain she has over reacted, they all have pasts after all, the Eden that Alex Santiago was describing, was not her wife, not even close. The door to the lab swings open, she looks up quickly hoping to see Eden, instead she is met by Lindsay, who looks a little like she feels. Tired to say the least.

"Hey Lindsay. You okay?"

Lindsay rubs her temples, obviously she isn't okay. "Danny didn't come home last night, and I can't reach him on his cell."

"Eden didn't come home last night either. Well mainly because I told her not to." Stella smiles, it quickly turns into a frown.

Before Lindsay has a chance to respond, the door goes again, this time Stella sees the person she really wants to. Eden, looking awful.

"Hey guys." They both smile at her. "Stella can I have a word in private?"

"Of course." Stella is eager to get Eden into her office. But Lindsay has a few questions of her own.

"Eden, was Danny with you last night?"

"Yeah, a few drinks with the guys turned into a bucket load. I hope he didn't wake you when he got in, must have been pushing two thirty?"

"Was it just you and the guys?"

Eden is slightly confused by Lindsay's line of questioning, but too hung over and too eager to talk to Stella, to really over analyse it, so she just answers honestly.

"Err, yeah, oh and Alex."

This gets Stella's attention. "Alex was with you?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No." Stella not sure why she feels so jealous, probably because Alex had seven years in Eden's life, and she had less than half of that. But she trusts Eden.

They make their way to Stella's office and close the door quickly behind them, Stella sighs and immediately sits in her chair, and Ashley sits on the desk directly in front of her.

"You look like shit." Stella's comment causes Ashley to laugh out loud.

"I feel like shit." This makes Stella smirk; she can't help her next confession.

"I hated you not being with me last night." She sheepishly looks up at Eden, who just stares back at her with pure love radiating in her eyes.

"I'm completely in love with you." The honesty in Eden's voice takes Stella's breath away. Ashley continues. "That's the difference. I was an idiot back then, that's not who I am anymore."

Stella rises and plants a kiss on her wife's lips. "I know, I was just shocked that that's ever who you were."

"I was messed up, I'm not proud of it, and I could have handled things with Alex a hell of a lot better."

Stella just nods, Ashley can tell there's something else on her mind. "Are we going to be okay?"

Stella nods. "We're gunna be just fine." Ashley likes the words that she's hearing, but not the look on her wife's face.

"Hey what is it?" Ashley gives Stella a look that suggests she won't drop it.

"I guess I'm just a little jealous that you spent the evening with Alex."

Ashley can't help the smirk that appears on her face. Stella smiles back. "You don't have to look so happy about it."

Ashley remembers the incident from early on in the evening, she decides to be honest with Stella, she can't help the nagging feeling at the back of her mind, that if she isn't it might come back to bite her. Stella is slightly worried at Eden's change in facial expression.

"She tried to kiss me." The rage builds in Stella immediately. The nerve of that woman.

"What did you do?" Stella asks through gritted teeth, not really sure she wants to know the answer. Ashley is a little put out that Stella thinks' she 'did' anything.

"I told her I was in love with you."

Stella breathes a sigh of relief. "Good now let's get to work, the sooner this day is over the better.

They exit the office and head out into the hall, it appears something is about to happen, Mac is standing looking unimpressed arms folded, Flack and Adam, looks as bad as Ashley does, and it appears Danny has returned and found Lindsay, and Alex is standing in front of them all, that irritatingly confident smile is back playing on her lips. She turns and sees that Eden and Stella are joining the group. She starts to speak.

"Oh good, here they are."

Ashley is confused, and voices as much. "What's going on?"

"I'm here for a quick confession." Now Ashley is really confused, she isn't the only one, everyone looks a little perplexed, except perhaps Danny who is looking at the floor. Alex continues, the full force of her venom is on Eden.

"You ruined my life. And a quick apology, and an 'I've changed for the better' act doesn't really change that fact. I hate how you have made me feel, and I hate that you now have this perfect life here in New York, and I'm stuck back in Detroit, personal life in tatters, because of how to treated me for seven years."

Ashley really is confused, she was sure that Alex had accepted her apology last night, the fact that they had all had a really good night together seemed to be testament to that, but apparently not. Alex continues.

"So as childish as it may seem, I decided on a little revenge, decided I would try and ruin this Brady Bunch family, we all get along so well, we're all perfect, little set up you all got going on here."

Ashley glances over at Adam and Flack, who look as confused as she feels, what on earth does Alex think she's done? They're all about to find out. She focuses less on Eden now, and turns her body so she'd facing the whole group.

"So team." She says it teasingly, she is enjoying this. "Little story for you. I had sex with one of your guys last night."

This makes everyone really take notice, Stella's eyes are immediately on Eden looking for any sort of reaction, and to be fair to her she looks as shocked as everyone else.

Alex looks like she's coming to the end of her little speech; she looks absolutely delighted with herself, huge bright smile on her face. "Good luck trying to figure out who."

And with that she turns and heads straight for the elevator. Happy.

Mac knows he needs to get a handle on this before it gets out of hand, he needs them to be focused on work today not who's sleeping with who. Inside he's praying his daughter hasn't done anything stupid, but he quickly sends them on assignment, being careful to separate his two married couples, the way he sees it, Eden is obviously favourite to have slept with Santiago, but the way Lindsay is looking at Danny, Mac's not so sure what's going on. It amazes him how much trouble these kids get themselves into, in their personal lives.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The day had been a trying one, but they had gotten through it, and quickly headed home, and that's where they are now, sitting at the island in the kitchen. Stella doesn't want to ask the question she's dying to ask, because she doesn't want Eden to think she doesn't trust her. Ashley however knows exactly what's on her mind.

"I wonder who it was." Ashley decides to take the gentle approach. "If it was anyone at all."

Stella is glad that Eden is the one to broach the subject, she decides to be coy. "Who what was?"

"Come on Stella, I know you've been worried about what Alex said all day."

It seems Eden can read her like a book. "Yeah I guess you're right." Busted.

Ashley quickly puts her out of her misery. "It wasn't me." She looks her dead in the eyes as she says it. Stella immediately knows she is telling the truth, she can read her wife's eyes so well.

"Phew." She chuckles, and Ashley joins her, but quickly gets serious again.

"The only thing is, if it did in fact happen, then we should be worried about who it was."

Stella is confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well Adam, crashed in my hotel room with me, so it couldn't have been him, I asked Flack, and he swears it wasn't him. There's no reason for him to lie, he's a single guy."

Stella is intrigued, but says nothing. Ashley continues to explain, why she is so worried. "Stella, the only other person out with us last night was Danny."

The penny immediately drops for Stella. "Lindsay said he didn't come home last night. He wouldn't be that stupid would he?"

"I dunno, he was pretty wasted."

They are pulled from their thoughts by the sound of the doorbell, it's around 9.30pm, so they are both startled by it, they certainly aren't expecting anyone. Guess there's only one way to find out, Stella goes off to answer the door. The Living room and Kitchen is all open plan, so Ashley can immediately see when Stella re enters the room, she doesn't look happy. Ashley sighs preparing herself for whatever is about to happen.

Stella is followed into the room, by a tear stained Lindsay, carrying a sleeping Lucy in her arms. Stella has a hold all in her hands; it doesn't take a genius to work out what's happened here, especially in light of their recent conversation. Lindsay speaks, through tears.

"Can I stay here for a few days?"She looks down.

Stella responds immediately. "Of course you can sweetie, is everything okay?"

Obviously not, but they need to hear it from Lindsay. She looks back up at the two of them; Ashley has now left the kitchen area and is standing with them, looking exceptionally worried.

"Danny slept with Alex, he confessed." She can't stop the tears that fall. Stella and Ashley's hearts break for Lindsay. Ashley grabs the sleeping child from Lindsay's arms, and Stella grabs Lindsay and pulls her into a hug, she is really violently sobbing now, but through the sobs, she manages to announce. "I've left him."

Ashley looks at Stella, she feels sick, and she feels like this is all her fault, if she had been a better human being Alex would never have set out to do any of this. She can't dwell on self pity, Lindsay needs them now.

"I'm going to put this one to bed." Ashley gestures down towards the sleeping child now in her arms, and quickly makes her way to the spare room. On the way there her eyes fill with tears, it seems Alex will have her revenge after all.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS PLEASE REVIEW, OR LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ON TWITTER. Eden_Ashley_Chr **


	26. Chapter 26

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS SO FAR **** OKAY GUYS THIS ONE IS A LITTLE DANNY AND LINDSAY CENTRIC, BUT IT'S A MEANS TO AN ENDS FOR OUR TWO LADIES, YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN WHEN YOU GET TO THE END. AND WHEN YOU READ THE END YOU'LL SEE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE ALL ABOUT STELLA AND EDEN. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley placed the still sleeping Lucy into the spare room bed, and stayed with her until she was sure she was settled. A million thoughts racing through her mind, the predominant one is guilt. She joins Stella and Lindsay in the living area, it seems Stella has made tea, Lindsay still looks devastated, Ashley can barely look her in the eyes, she just moves quickly to the coffee table and grabs her car keys. This takes both of the other women by surprise. Stella voices hers.

"Are you going somewhere?" Stella can tell there is something very wrong with her wife.

Ashley, who still can't bring herself to look over at Lindsay, quickly looks up at Stella and takes in the concern etched on her face. Then looks back down at the floor.

"I'm gunna go see Danny; let him know that you and Lucy are okay." She chances a look up at Lindsay, who appreciates Eden's concern, as much as she hates Danny for what he's done, she still loves him, and she knows he will be going out of his mind with worry. She just nods at Ashley, who sheepishly exits the apartment after one final glance over at Stella, and a wry smile.

Stella watches her wife leave, worried. She knows Eden is blaming herself for this mess. Stella knows it isn't her fault, it's not like she forced Danny to sleep with Santiago, and she hopes Lindsay realises that too. But for now there are more pressing issues at hand that the two ladies need to discuss.

"What are you going to do?" Stella looks directly at Lindsay; she can tell she's seriously contemplating the question. She answers honestly and tears start to prick her eyes again as the words fall from her mouth.

"I don't know."

"Do you think you can ever forgive him?"

Again Lindsay lets the words wash over her, the truth is the way she feels right now, the answer is no, but when the anger subsides she really doesn't know.

"I don't know. It's not the first time this has happened."

This takes Stella by the surprise she wasn't aware Danny had cheated before. The shock must be apparent as Lindsay feels the need to explain herself.

"It was before we were married. Before we were really together. Before he knew I was pregnant."

Lindsay again lost her thoughts can't help but voice them. "I never thought he'd do it after we were married."

She shakes the sorrow out of head, talking is really helping and she's so grateful to Stella for being there to listen.

"Could you ever forgive Eden, if she cheated I mean?"

The thought makes Stella feel sick. She exhales as she contemplates her answer. "I don't know. I like to think that she never would. But if she did."

Stella again exhales while she thinks of how to word her next sentence. "She wouldn't be the same person I fell in love with. But I can't imagine my life without her. I really don't know."

Stella laughs as she says it, and Lindsay can't help but join in. "That wasn't really an answer was it?"

"It's difficult, because I can't imagine my life without Danny either."

They both sink back into the couch on which they're seating, deep in thought, Lindsay about the mess her life has descended into, and Stella about what a dilemma Lindsay was in, and how she hopes she's never in the same situation.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley pulls up outside Danny and Lindsay's apartment block, and slowly makes her way upstairs, it's around ten thirty now, but she needs to speak to Danny, she needs to do everything in her power to make this all okay. She reaches the front door, and knocks wearily. Danny opens the door mere seconds later, face full of hope obviously hoping its Lindsay, he can't hide his disappointment when he see's Ashley standing there.

"Hey Ash, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." Danny moves to the side and lets Ashley through, she takes a seat on the couch, and Danny dejectedly lets himself drop into the chair opposite, he grabs his glass, Ashley guesses from the colour its scotch he's drinking. Danny notices her eying his drink.

"Do you want one?" He lifts his glass to gesture he means a drink.

"No thanks, I'm driving." She smiles, she certainly isn't going to berate him for trying to find the answers to his problems in the bottom of a bottle, she knows she's looked there herself a fair few times.

She decides to deliver the main portion of the news she came here to give. "Lindsay and Lucy are at my place. I just wanted you to know they're safe."

"I figured as much. I appreciate you coming here to tell me." He takes a large swig of his drink, and closes his eyes tight as it burns down his throat and into his stomach. When he reopens them he see's Ashley deep in thought, obviously that wasn't all she came to tell him, but she is struggling to put the words together.

She sighs, it seems Danny is about to find out what else she has to say.

"I know Alex. Probably better than anyone else in the world." Danny really isn't sure where this is going, Ashley continues.

"She's a game player Danny. Apart from my obvious intimacy issues back them, that was another big reason we would never have worked out, she loves playing games."

Danny is confused. "I don't really know where you're going with this Ash?"

"I need you to tell me, exactly what you remember from last night."

Danny furrows his brow, he's still highly confused. "What's to tell? I woke up in her hotel room, in her bed, naked, with her, also naked."

This gives Ashley a glimmer of hope. "So you don't actually remember having sex with her?"

"Well no, but we woke up together."

"Look Danny, all I'm saying is I wouldn't put it past her to make you think that you had sex, but in reality it didn't really happen."

"Seriously. You think she's that crazy." Danny can't believe anyone would do that.

"Danny I was with her for seven years, I pissed her off big style in those seven years. I mean I dread to think how many other women there were."

Danny isn't impressed, which is good cos Ashley really isn't trying to impress him. She continues. "And that was just the tip of the iceberg. I've been on the end of her crazy many a time. Believe me she is more than capable of something like this."

"Really?" Now Danny was starting to get his hopes up.

"Really. All the things I've done to hurt her in the past, and I swear I have never seen her as mad as she was yesterday. I wouldn't put it past her." Ashley can't help but stroke her own cheek, as she thinks back to Alex's anger, it was still sore, it was still red.

"I dunno Ashley, its pretty 'fatal attraction'"

Ashley can't help but laugh at his movie reference, Danny joins in, the first time he's smiled today.

"What can I say I'm quite the catch." This makes Danny really laugh, he appreciates Ashley being a friend for him, he knows she could have easily stayed with Lindsay and Stella, and just called to let him know they were okay. He's touched that she's made the effort to actually make sure he's okay, not only that, but she's actually offered him some hope that he can save his marriage.

"I'm going to call her."

Danny instantly knows she means Alex.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well things can't get any worse." She states this as she pulls out her cell phone and looks up Alex's number, Danny just nods his head, she's right after all, things really couldn't get any worse right now. She puts the phone on speaker and places it on the coffee table, they both lean forward, and listen to the rings, it's not long before the line kicks in and they both hear a voice they are very familiar with.

"Missing me already Eden?"

Ashley ignores her and presses on. "You made it home alright then?"

"Yes, but I doubt your calling to make sure I had a safe journey."

She got that right. Ashley just plods on with what she wants to say. "Look I know you want to hurt me, and that's fine, I deserve it. But Danny and Lindsay they're a family, they have a kid."

Alex exhales on the other end of the line. "Well you can blame your friend Adam for that, he was adamant I wasn't getting anywhere near your hotel room, so much so that he stayed in there himself."

"What are you talking about?" Ashley really is confused, Danny just listens intently.

"Well the plan was to wake up with you. When I realised that wasn't going to happen, I bumped into Danny outside the hotel trying to hail a cab. Looking decidedly worse for wear, I managed to convince him to get a room with me."

"So you took him back to the room and had sex with him?"

They are both taken aback by the laugh at the other end of the line. "Don't be ridiculous, he could barely stand up let alone have sex."

Danny feels rage building inside him, Ashley just looks up at him knowingly. Alex continues.

"I just waited for him to pass out and removed his clothes. You should have seen him the next day, he was so ashamed."

Ashley can't actually believe what she's hearing, she knew Alex had the capacity to play games, but she never believed she could be this cruel. She can't help but voice her opinion.

"Wow. I messed you up real bad."

The playfulness that had been apparent in her voice previous has disappears. "Yeah, you just remember that next time you decide to play with someone's feelings again."

"I'm sorry." Not the first time Ashley has uttered those words in the last few days, and as on the previous occasions, she truly means it.

"Yeah, well whatever. If that's all I've gotta go. Seeya Eden. Seeya Danny."

Danny is slightly stunned that she knew he was listening in, but she hangs up before anyone has a chance to question it. Danny just feels pure rage, Ashley can tell he's about to lose it.

"Right you stay here and calm yourself down." Ashley is busy formulating a plan. "I'm gunna head back to mine and talk to Lindsay."

"Don't you think I should be the one to talk to her?" Danny is getting annoyed.

"Firstly, she won't let you anywhere near her right now. Secondly you look like you're about to go off like a rocket. I don't think you're in the right frame of mind."

Ashley knows they need to approach this carefully if there's any chance Lindsay will take him back.

"Stop drinking try and get some sleep, and hopefully by the time you both get to work tomorrow, she'll actually want to speak to you."

Danny knows she's right. He nods his head to confirm. Ashley rises from her seat, kisses him on the cheek and heads for the exit. Just before she is about to leave through the front door, Danny's voice stops her in her tracks.

"Ashley." She turns to face him. "Thanks."

She smiles. "It's the least I can do; all of this is my fault after all."

Danny looks confused, he lays the blame fully with himself and Alex, he doesn't get this weird guilt complex Ashley has, but she leaves before he has a chance to say anything.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It's pretty late by the time Ashley gets back to her own apartment, she's praying that Stella and Lindsay are still up, she makes her way to the living area and realises she needn't have worried, they are still up, a lamp illuminating them, it seems Stella is doing a good job of taking her mind off of it, as they are both smiling, although it seems a bottle of white zinfandel may have helped as well. Ashley spies the half empty bottle on the coffee table.

They both seem to realise Eden has returned at the same time, Stella greets her with a loving smile, and Lindsay with a look of apprehension. It looks like Stella will speak first.

"Hey Shorty." Ashley just smiles at her wife.

"How is he?" Ashley is surprised when this question comes from Lindsay.

She decides it's far too late to beat around the bush. "He didn't cheat on you."

This takes Lindsay and Stella by surprise. "Eden he confessed." Lindsay can't help but voice her confusion.

"No he confessed to what he thought he'd done. He was too drunk to remember what actually happened."

"And what makes you think you know exactly what happened." Lindsay appreciates that Eden and Danny are friends, but there's no way she can be sure exactly what happened. Stella just watches the interaction with great interest.

"I don't know exactly what happened. The only person that does is Alex. And she told me, that they didn't have sex."

Now Lindsay doesn't know what to feel, should she feel relieved, happy? She decides instead to question what Eden is saying.

"Look Eden, I know you and Danny are good friends, but I like to think that we are friends too, that you have an ounce of respect for me." Lindsay is getting angrier as she speaks.

"For you to stand here and lie to me for Danny."

Lindsay pauses as she looks for the best words to say to continue her rant against Eden. Before she has a chance, Ashley holds up her hand, signalling that she wants both women to listen to her, she retrieves her phone, pushes a few buttons.

"Look I called her, and recorded the conversation on my phone, listen to it. Then decide. I'm going to bed, because I'm exhausted. But Lindsay, I'm telling you the biggest problem your marriage has, is that Danny thought he was capable of cheating."

Ashley places the phone on the coffee table, both women just watch her do it, then watch again as she walks off towards her and Stella's bedroom. The two women remaining on the couch, just look at each other open mouthed, then look at the phone.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley had already been up about an hour before Stella sleepily joins her in the kitchen she loiters leaning against a wall taking in the scene before her. Her wife is currently sitting at the island with Lucy perched on her knee, there are two bowls of cereal, and they are both happily eating away, they look so cute, Lucy is like a mini Eden, they are both in exactly the same position, just Lucy has a smaller spoon and bowl, they are even both reading, Eden has the daily newspaper folded over to their left, and Lucy has her children's book to their right, Stella has to stifle a laugh when they both bring a spoonful of cereal to their mouth at exactly the same time.

"Aunty Eden." Lucy speaks. Ashley pulls her attention from the newspaper and looks down at the small child, Stella all the time secretly watching the two of them.

"Yes Princess?" Although it's a pet name Ashley hates for herself, she knows it's one that Lucy loves, which is confirmed by the huge grin that appears on her face. She presses on with her question.

"Why did me and Mommy stay here last night?"

Ashley is a little scared of the question, Stella is too truth be told, the smile that had been playing on her lips moments earlier turns into a frown. Ashley really doesn't know how to answer.

"Well." She knows Lucy will be expecting some sort of answer. "Mommy and Daddy had a small disagreement, and rather than make it worse by arguing, Mommy decided it would be better for the two of you to stay here for a few days."

Ashley can see Lucy digest the information; she didn't want to lie to her. "That makes sense, arguing is horrible."

Lucy seems satisfied with what Ashley has said; Ashley is relieved and hopes that's the last awkward question the child asks. Although worryingly it seems she is going to ask something else, Ashley braces herself.

"Do you really think I'm a princess?"

The relief on Ashley's face must be obvious, because Stella can't help but laugh out loud. This gets the attention of the two seated female's both their heads whip round to see Stella giggling like a school girl. She swallows the laughs. Lucy is obviously excited to see Stella, she practically squeals.

"Aunty Stella."

Stella is immediately over to them. "Hello Lucy Loo." She kisses Lucy on the head, before reaching over Lucy's head and giving her wife a big kiss. They both laugh when they hear Lucy's next word.

"Yuk."

Stella moves around to the other side of the Island, and starts making herself some breakfast; Lucy goes back to happily eating her cereal, and reading her book. Stella loves this; this is what every morning could be like if she and Eden ever have a family, and watching Eden with Lucy, she really suits motherhood.

Ashley looks over at Stella and finds she is looking over at her with adoration, she loves Stella looking at her like this, so full of love, she hope she always looks at her like this. But she needs to find out what happened after she went to bed last night.

"Did you listen to the phone last night?"

Stella seems to remember all of a sudden that her best friend is in the midst of a marriage crisis, the smile drops from her face.

"Yeah."

"And?" the look on Stella's face isn't filling Ashley with confidence.

"I honestly don't know."

At that moment they are joined by Lindsay, looking more than a little hung over, she immediately gives Lucy a kiss, and her heart melts when her daughter speaks.

"Good morning Mommy."

"Good morning sweetie."

Lindsay seems to panic all of a sudden, and quickly looks at her watch.

"I'm going to be late getting her to school." She curses under her breath, she isn't even dressed yet and Lucy has to be there in half an hour.

"I'll take her." Ashley is the only one of the adults fully dressed after all.

Lucy squeals with delight again, making all the adults laugh once more.

"Right then get your coat and bag, and give mummy and Aunty Stella a kiss."

Lucy obediently does as she's told, and then the two of them go to leave.

"See you guys at work." Ashley exits the apartment. Again Stella can't help but be excited by the scene in front of her. But again the smile drops as she catches sight of Lindsay, she looks awful, she guesses she didn't get any sleep last night.

"So what are you gunna do about Danny?" Stella gets straight to the point.

"I don't know. I feel a hell of a lot better knowing he didn't actually cheat. But like Eden said, he thought he was capable of it, and that's a worry. I don't know if I can trust him."

"He put himself in an awful position, he made a silly mistake. One I'm sure he won't make again."

Lindsay takes in Stella's words; she values Stella's opinion above most. "I know you're right."

Lindsay exhales deeply, she knows her husband has made a huge error in judgement, and she thankful that's all. She loves him, and she knows more than anything she wants to make it work.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley had dropped Lucy off at school and gone straight to work, she was immediately accosted by Danny in the main lab.

"So what did she say?" Danny is eager to know how it went.

"Nothing really."

"Come on Ashley you're killing me here."

"Sorry Danny, I know she's listened to the phone conversation I had with Alex, but I don't know her reaction to it." Ashley feels for him she really does, she wishes she had more for him, she can see he's in agony.

"Look Stella might know more, I dropped Lucy at school this morning so she and Lindsay probably chatted then." Danny still looks dejected.

They are both startled when the door to the main lab opens. It seems Danny might be about to get the answers he's after. Stella and Lindsay stroll into the lab, Lindsay instantly makes eye contact with Danny, she sees the pain there, pain that is no doubt mirrored in her own eyes. Without ever breaking eye contact, she speaks.

"Will you guys give us a minute?"

Stella and Ashley immediately exit the lab, no words needed. The tension in the room hits maximum, Danny wants to speak but he doesn't want to make things any worse. When Lindsay doesn't speak, he feels like he has to.

"I want you to come home." Lindsay is stunned by the emotion in his voice, and the tears forming in his eyes.

She was so determined to be strong, but the truth is she loves this man with all of her heart, and her heart breaks to see him like this, she immediately crosses the room, and falls into Danny's arms he hugs her, like he's never going to let her go, tears falling from his eyes, matched by those falling from Lindsay's. She pulls back and looks up at him; she is still angry and makes sure Danny knows this.

"Don't you ever put yourself in that position again Danny Messer." She combines her words with a sly smack on the arm for Danny.

He knows that they will get through this, so he smiles in spite of the smack he's just received.

"I won't I promise. I'm never drinking again." He smiles again through his tears, and Lindsay can't help but join him, she snuggles back into the hug.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella and Ashley had immediately retreated to Stella's office. Stella was sitting behind the desk and Ashley was sprawled out on the couch in there.

"That was pretty intense huh?"

Stella just nods in agreement. She's had something on her mind since this morning and doesn't really know how to bring it up with Eden. Ashley apparently hasn't noticed that her wife is pre occupied.

"Do you think they'll be okay?"

Stella is momentarily pulled away from her thoughts. "I really hope so."

Now Ashley picks up on Stella acting weird, it was almost as if Stella drifted out of her own little world just then to answer her question, and then drifted right back in.

"Is everything okay with you?" Ashley is worrying a little.

Stella knows she is going to have to bring up what she's thinking sooner rather than later, and there really is no time like the present. Ashley watches her wife with interest she can practically see the cogs turning in her brain.

"We're doing alright aren't we?"

That's a fairly weird question, one that Ashley wasn't really expecting, she just nods her head wondering where Stella is going with this. She continues.

"I mean we've almost made a year of marriage and I'm still as happy as I was on our wedding day."

"Stella, we're fantastic, where is this going?" Ashley really is perplexed.

Stella goes back to the scene in the kitchen this morning, it really was the most perfect thing, and she wants that. She decides to bite the bullet.

"I want us to try for a baby." Stella holds her breath as she waits for a reaction from Eden.

Ashley doesn't really know how to react; she sits up on the couch open mouthed, staring at Stella with a look of immense shock on her face. Stella is worried. Truth be told so is Ashley, her next words will shape her future forever, whatever they may be . . .

**XXXXXXXXX**

**SO THERE IT IS, AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. VIA REVIEW BUTTON OR TWITTER AT Eden_Ashley_Chr **


	27. Chapter 27

**Hi guys, It's been a while. Sorry about that, hopefully, the chapters should come thicker and faster now. Let me know what you think of this one.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley lets Stella's words wash over her. To be completely honest that was the last thing she was expecting her wife to say, in light of the recent bump in their marriage. She has really caught her by surprise. As her brain starts to process the information, she realises Stella is looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Stella just stares at Eden, she watches her wife go through a myriad of different emotions, each one playing out clearly on her face, if it wasn't such a serious situation, she would have probably laughed out loud at the number of different expressions.

Although it's been a while since she dropped her bombshell, and she still hasn't had a response from Eden, she's not panicking too much just yet, mainly because her wife's facial expression has just changed from one of utter confusion, to one of pure happiness. But it seems her brain hasn't generated enough power for her to actually formulate words yet.

It seems that may be about to change. Just as Eden looks as though she might speak, they are interrupted by Mac entering Stella's office. Oblivious to what he has just invaded, it appears his speech function is working perfectly.

"Eden, I need to speak to you for a second."

At this point he looks up, and suddenly realises he may well have just stepped into the middle of something, Eden is just sat open mouthed, and Stella looks almightily pissed off. He really hopes this has nothing to do with Detective Santiago, which in truth is what he wants to talk to Eden about anyway.

Eden just rises from the chair, thankful of the interruption, her eyes never leave Stella's even as she answers Mac's question.

"Yeah sure. I'll be right back."

That last part was aimed at Stella, and the fact that she nods her head, confirms that she has understood that. Ashley still somewhat in a daze, which is apparent to both Stella and Mac, just follows her father out of the room.

Once they are far enough down to corridor to be sure they are out of Stella's ear shot, Mac grabs Eden's arm and gently tugs her, still in the daze, she just looks down at her sleeve. Mac is really worried about her, he's truly starting to panic that Eden was the one who slept with Alex Santiago after all.

"Eden, is everything okay?"

Ashley just looks from her sleeve to Macs lips, almost as if her sight has been attracted to the noise. She needs air.

"Can we go to the roof, and talk?"

Who better to discuss this with than her Dad? Since Stella told her she wanted to try for a baby, she feels like she has tipped every part of the emotion scale, fear, happiness, pride, anxiety, excitement, surprise, that is quite a whirlwind of emotion to have flown through given that Stella actually only told her about ten minutes ago, but mainly at the moment she seems to have settled on panic.

They reach the roof, and Ashley takes a few moments to compose herself, she looks out over the city, and as usual it calms her. Mac on the other hand really is starting to panic, his daughters strange behaviour, thus far really has him concerned, she wouldn't be stupid enough to cheat on Stella, surely. It seems he's about to find out either way, Eden starts to speak.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone, not even Stella?"

This does nothing to quell his fear; his daughter just looks at him expectantly, so he nods.

"Stella wants us to try for a baby."

Mac can't help his reaction, he blames it on pure relief, he starts to laugh. Okay, not really what Ashley was expecting, she looks at him like he's just sprouted a second head. Mac better explain himself.

"I'm sorry Eden; I really thought you were going to tell me that you'd slept with Detective Santiago." He continues to chuckle.

Ashley is a little annoyed that her own father could think she would do something like that. "Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence Dad."

Now he feels bad. "I'm sorry, it's just it's been a little tense round here the last few days, and you've been acting so weird just now."

Then something hits him, his daughter had made him promise not to tell anyone, not even Stella, but surely if it was Stella's suggestion, she already knows, he confused, and can't help but voice his confusion.

"Eden, I thought you said I wasn't allowed to tell Stella."

She smirks at the puzzlement pasted on his face, his earlier misdemeanour regarding the cheating forgiven. Of course it wasn't just the potential baby she wanted to discuss, but also her overriding feeling since Stella's proposition. She takes a deep breath as she thinks about how she can explain it best.

"My mother was an awful mother." The penny drops a little for Mac, Ashley continues, she's looking down the whole time she's speaking. "I mean she didn't have a maternal bone in her body."

At this moment she chooses to look up into Mac's eyes, and he is blown away by the emotion in hers, she is on the verge of tears, she is really genuinely worried about this. "What if I'm just like her?"

The tears spill over, and Mac immediately embraces his child. He needs to make Eden see that she is one of the most wonderful people he has ever met, and that she will make an unbelievable mother, and that she and Stella are going to make brilliant parents.

"Eden, honey, you are nothing like Amelia. You would never treat anyone the way she treated you."

He can tell she doesn't believe him, he pulls her face up, so their eyes meet again.

"Listen to me, you will make an amazing mother, you don't have a bad bone in your body." He knows that Eden will respond to reasoning more than anything, such is her analytical mind, so he tries that route.

"And anyway, she made mistakes with you, but she seemed to put them right with Zane and Sienna, they loved her."

"I guess." It seems the reasoning is working, Ashley hadn't really thought about the ways her mother had righted her wrongs, she was just concentrating on the fifteen years of hell she'd put her through.

Mac continues. "And she came through in the end for you."

This makes Ashley smile; she really did come through in the end. She guesses she has just been over thinking it, and concentrating on the wrong things, she can't help it though, she's a worrier. Now she can look at the positives for sure, and one almost inadvertently falls from her lips.

"And you're a great dad." She smiles and looks up at Mac again.

He just beams with pride. "So what did you tell Stella?"

"I didn't, you interrupted us, before I had a chance to answer." The look of remorse on Mac's face makes Ashley burst into laughter.

"God, I'm sorry Eden, you shoulda told me you were busy."

It's at this point Ashley realises, that she still doesn't actually know what Mac wanted to speak to her about?

"So tell me father, what was so important that you needed to drag me away from an extremely important, life changing conversation with my wife?" Ashley is teasing him, and Mac knows it, but he still feels terrible.

"I just wanted to make sure the Santiago problem has been resolved, and make sure that you and Stella are okay, but I guess in light of the previous conversation, you guys are better than okay?"

"We're brilliant. I acted like an idiot, with Alex, and I continued to act like an idiot when she showed up in New York, but me and Stella have sorted it out, and I think Danny and Lindsay are gunna be fine too."

"Good."

"Right well, if there's nothing else, I guess I better get back to my wife, I bet she's still sitting on the edge of her seat awaiting my response."

Mac shakes his head, which just makes Ashley laugh even more. She gets serious for a second though, and grabs Mac on the shoulder.

"Thanks Dad. You've really helped me see things a lot more clearly."

"That's what I'm here for."

Mac smiles, they embrace again, before Ashley hurriedly heads for the entrance to the building, she needs to speak to Stella.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Stella had just sat at her desk, in complete limbo. She had left herself open a little by telling Eden she wants a baby, she had disappeared with Mac around twenty minutes ago, and Stella had convinced herself in the meantime, that Eden was completely against the idea. I mean her lack of any actual response was surely evidence of that?

Stella will be devastated if Eden says no, she can't lie. She really wants to have a baby. She has tried to occupy her mind with paperwork since Eden was snatched away by Mac, but that hasn't helped, she has basically just been driving herself insane, by over thinking, every scenario. It seems she is finally about to be put out of her misery. Eden walks into her office, she certainly looks a lot happier than when she left, but more than that, she is exuding confidence.

Ashley looks down at her beautiful wife; she looks a little more stressed than when she left the office, understandable. Ashley can't remove the smile from her face, it's almost as if she's forgotten she's supposed to be speak, Stella decides to break the ice.

"What did Mac want?" Wow, she really doesn't sound happy, this confuses Ashley.

"He just wanted to make sure we were still together."

"What?" It really does take Stella by surprise.

"You know because of the whole Santiago thing." Weirdly it was like Stella had forgotten the whole episode already; it seems to her that so much has happened for them since that. She still is overly aware that Eden still hasn't brought up the baby subject. Ashley can feel the tension in the room, and between them, she decides Stella deserves a full explanation. She takes a seat opposite her, and starts to speak.

"When you said you wanted to have a baby." Stella freezes, her heart jumps to her mouth, it seems her answer is about to be provided. Ashley continues.

"I was just so scared." That was the last emotion Stella was expecting from her wife, she is hanging on her every word now. Ashley looks up at Stella.

"I told you before we were married; I would give you everything you wanted. That included marriage and kids. Nothing has changed for me; I would love nothing more than for us to be parents."

A solitary tear escapes Stella's eye, she senses Eden hasn't finished yet. "I am so sorry for how I reacted, you just really caught me by surprise, when you put it out there, it became more real somehow. I panicked, I wasn't sure I'd make a very good mother. I haven't exactly had a great example."

Stella laughs. "What a pair we make, my mother figure wasn't exactly notable either."

Of course, Ashley hadn't even taken a second to think about Stella, she was an orphan, how could she have been so stupid. She doesn't really know what to say, she wonders if Stella had the same doubts as she had.

"You will make a wonderful mother." Ashley needed to get that out there just in case.

"So will you." Stella states it simply. Ashley gets excited butterflies in her stomach.

"So we're doing this?"

Stella, who has also just had an attack of the butterflies, moves around her desk to join her wife on the other side.

"We're doing this." Neither of them can stop the huge grins that appear on their faces. They just fall into each other, and start to kiss like teenagers, happy, excited teenagers.

**XXXXXXXXX**

True to form, Ashley is eager to get an idea at least of what they are going to do. She likes to be organised. Stella laughs; it takes her back to when they were arranging their wedding.

They have just arrived home with pizza and beer, all laid out on the centre island in their kitchen, Stella smirks, she feels as though they are at the lay out table back at the lab, almost as if they are about to undertake an investigation. She loves that Eden puts the same level of commitment and thoroughness into the big things in their personal life, as she does into her cases at work.

It seems she is ready to start, Stella takes a swig of her beer, and prepares herself to organise the next big step in her life, the smirk still firmly on her face, god she loves this woman so much.

"So" Ashley looks up at Stella, and immediately smiles at the Cheshire cat like grin on her face, she always teases her for being so anal when it comes to organisation, she knows exactly what her wife is thinking, but she decides to forgive her, because behind that grin is pure love radiating, she knows that Stella loves this side to her. She just smirks back.

"How are we gunna do it?" Ashley exhales, obviously the two of them being women, makes the process a bit more complicated, and there are numerous options. This is of course something Stella knows too. Which is probably why she sighs as loudly as her wife, and takes another swig of beer.

"So, I guess our options are pregnancy, or adoption." Stella thinks over her wife's words, both are certainly appealing options, she would love nothing more than to be pregnant, carry a baby, and give birth. But being an orphan herself, she knows too well the benefit of adoption.

"I want us to have our own child." Stella surprises herself when the words tumble from her lips. She looks up sheepishly at Eden. "Does that make me selfish?"

"Absolutely not. I want us to have our own child too." Ashley smiles and then continues. "Well now that's decided, who's going to have the baby?"

Ashley knows the answer to her question before she asks it, she knows Stella is dying to carry their child, and to be honest, the thought of Stella pregnant, drives her wild. But she waits patiently for the answer.

"Well, I'm a little older I guess. Would you mind if I had the first one?"

Well it seems Stella has plans for a brood, one step at a time. "I would like nothing more. I can't wait to see you pregnant."

Stella can't believe how happy she is right now, she drifts off into her own little world, thinking about babies, and pregnancy, and how amazing she knew Eden would be throughout. Ashley on the other is still organising away in her head, she starts to think out loud.

"You know my family is well connected in New York." That was an understatement, Stella thinks back to Audrey securing them their reception venue on such short notice.

"We are tight with the Rivera family; they have a daughter around my age, Ava. We've met up a few times since I've been in New York, she's a doctor, and luck would have it, a fertility expert. I bet I could get us an appointment."

It seems she's going to try immediately, she jumps off the stool and heads out somewhere into the apartment. There are those butterflies again in Stella's stomach; this is all getting very real. She's excited, the kind of excited that rises in your chest, and settles in your throat, you can feel it every time you swallow, and every time you think of the thing that's gotten you so excited, it's almost too much, and you feel like you'll explode. It's a feeling Stella has become accustomed to since she's known Eden, and it's a feeling she hopes never fades.

Ashley returns, smiling. "Got us an appointment tomorrow."

"Wow you really are well connected."

"Yeah, well it will just be a chat at first, she'll talk us through our options, and then we can go as fast or as slow as you like from there."

"Thank you." Stella doesn't just mean for getting the appointment, she means for everything.

Ashley is in such a good mood she can't help but be playful. "You're welcome." She steals a kiss from her wife. "Enjoy that beer while you can. For that matter, we'll probably have to cut out pizza too. I don't want you getting fat."

Stella playfully slaps her on the arm, to which Ashley's response is to stick her tongue out at her, she grabs a slice of pizza, and the two women settle back down into their evening, laughing and joking throughout. Blissful.

**XXXXXXXX**

The next day, Stella and Ashley are both rather nervously sitting in Doctor Rivera's office. Waiting for her to arrive. It's not long before Ava enters the room, Stella watches intently as she greets her wife warmly. "Eden Alexa. Good to see you again."

"Ava Marie." She states playfully. "You look great."

Ava smiles, then realises they are being quite rude, she looks over at Stella, who thus far has just been smiling at the interaction between the two friends in front of her.

"You must be the wonderful Stella?" Ava holds her hand out and Stella readily accepts it, and shakes it excitedly as she responds.

"Well I'm not sure about the wonderful part, but I am definitely Stella." Ava smiles, she can see why her friend has fallen for this woman, she makes her way round her desk and takes a seat as she speaks.

"Nonsense, Eden here has done nothing but talk about you since she arrived in New York, and it's all been very wonderful." Ava grins sideways at her friend, Ashley looks rather sheepish. Stella just grins at her wife, and wiggles her eyebrows.

They are brought from their playful mood by Ava's next words. "So you want to have a baby?" She looks at both of them expectantly. Ashley breaks the silence.

"Yes." Neither she nor Stella can help the smile that erupts on both of their faces. Ava chuckles, but she wants to get right down to business, she very much reminds Stella of Eden in this respect.

"Right, so tell me what you've decided so far."

"Well, we know we want to have our own baby, and that Stella is going to carry it." It's at this point that Ashley realises that they haven't really put as much thought into this as perhaps they could have. "That's it really."

Ava puts Ashley at ease almost instantly. "That's more than enough. Let me take you, through your options."

Ashley smiles, and grabs Stella's hand, as they prepare to be given the information they need, to make one of the biggest, if not the biggest decision of their adult life.

"Okay well you have a few options, first and most simple is IUI, inter uterine insemination, which is your basic turkey baster job." Ashley can't help but laugh at her friend's turn of phrase. Ava continues.

"There are two options with this; you can either have an anonymous sperm donor, or someone you know. And as long as there are no problems with the host, fertility wise, this is the simplest and cheapest option."

Stella and Eden both listening intently, both with a million thoughts whirring around their brains, both nod to let Ava know they have understood, she nods back and powers on again.

"Now, what I've found a lot of lesbian couples prefer to do is partner IVF. It's a little more completed, but what it basically means, is that, we would take an egg, from Eden, which would then be fertilised, again, you can have an anonymous or known donor, we would then implant that egg into Stella, who would obviously carry the baby and give birth. What this option means, is that both of you would have a connection to the child. Eden you would be the biological mother, and Stella you would be the birth mother, and then you could do it vice versa for the next pregnancy."

Stella immediately knows this is what she wants, she would love nothing more that for them to have a child together, and this is the closet they are going to get to that.

"That sounds perfect." Stella wasn't aware she had said the words out loud, until she has two sets of eyes on her, she turns to Eden.

"What do you think?"

"I think it sounds perfect too." She can't help but lean across and place a gentle kiss on Stella's lips, Ava smiles, she has never seen her childhood friend as happy as this, and she includes when she was with Katy, there's something she never thought was possible.

After the initial joy, of seemingly finding the perfect way to conceive, Stella's mind immediately turns to what may be the deal breaker; Ashley can tell something is wrong, from the way Stella's expression changes.

"You said the first way would be the cheaper option, exactly how much is this IVF going to set us back?"

Ashley instantly perks up. "Stella, money isn't an issue."

Stella is adamant though. "No Eden, this is something I want us to do together, whatever the cost I want us to split it 50/50."

Just as Ashley was about to launch into an impassioned plea that their, marriage meant that they now shared everything, including her wealth, Ava speaks before she can.

"Stella, Eden's right, money isn't an issue, because it's all on the house."

Ashley is taken aback, Ava can tell she is about to protest. "Before you start, without the help of your family, my family would be nowhere; this is the least we can do."

Ashley knows better than to argue with Ava, she's wearing a look on her face that states, she means business and she won't be budging.

"So all you need to decide then is where you want your sperm to come from."

"That's gross." Ashley can't help but voice her disgust; she is being playful of course. Ava just smiles.

"Right well I need you both back in to run some fertility tests, say at the end of this week?" They both nod in agreement.

"Then we can set a schedule and get you pregnant." She is of course looking at Stella, as she speaks, and Stella can't help the excitement she feels at her words.

"Thank you so much." Stella practically gushes.

"You're more than welcome, right I have to go, but feel free to chat in my office for a while, and make your next appointment with my secretary on your way out."

She moves round to the front of her desk, and her newest clients rise to their feet to say their goodbyes. In the form of a kiss on the cheek from both.

"Right I'll see you both at the end of the week."

With that Ava leaves the office, and Ashley turns round to greet her wife, she exhales, almost because she's full to the brim with excitement and needed to let a little of it out, Stella without words, just grabs her wife and pulls her into a hug.

The wheels are well and truly in motion now.

**XXXXXXXXX**

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	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

They had both been in and seen Ava, and both had been declared fine fertility wise. So now everything was set, Ashley is actually on her way to Ava's office right now, to have her eggs harvested. She and Stella had decided that an anonymous donor was what they really wanted. Ava had provided them with a catalogue of potential donors, which they had spent an evening with a bottle of wine picking the perfect match, as well as checking the family medical history was good, and the educational background was okay too, they picked a donor who's physical appearance and ethnic background would match Stella's the most. That way the kid stands a chance of looking like their child.

They are both incredibly excited, but Ashley hates that they haven't shared it with Mac and Audrey yet. Obviously Mac knows they were thinking about starting a family, but he doesn't actually know the wheels are in motion, and it's taking everything she has to keep the information to herself. Stella is adamant though, she wants to at least wait until she's pregnant, and if at all possible, until she's past the three month mark, she really doesn't want to jinx anything, and she knows the traditional thing to do, is wait until three months has passed. Ashley thinks she may actually physically explode before then.

Ashley was gestured at by the receptionist at the doctors' offices to go straight into Ava's office, she smiles and walks in. Ava looks up from behind her desk and instantly smiles, and rises to greet her old friend, before taking a seat, and inviting Eden to do the same.

"Hi." Ashley still has a grin on her face, Ava can't help but comment.

"Hi, yourself. I see you've still got that silly lopsided grin on you face?"

"Can you blame me?"

"You really love her don't you?" Ava asks with a whimsical look on her face, even though the answer to her question is obvious.

"More than I ever thought possible."

Ava couldn't be happier for her friend, and she knows that although they don't see each other as often as they would like, they're still close enough that she can pose her next sentence.

"You know I thought after the whole 'Katy' episode, you were so messed up that you'd never really be happy again."

The smile falls from Ashley's face, as it usually does when she thinks of Katy's murder. "You and me both."

Ava still lost in her own thoughts. "Stella must be a really special woman."

Then the smile returns as it inevitably does when she thinks of her wife, and how she's brought the joy back into her life. "She is."

Ava smiles, and then shakes her head. "Right." It's almost as if she's just realised Eden is here for an actual reason, not just a catch up.

"Let's harvest some eggs." She wiggles her eyebrows at Eden, who instantly gets a little nervous.

"So tell me, what is the procedure exactly?"

Ava picks up on her friend's uneasiness. "Well, I won't sugar coat it Eden, there's a probe involved."

Ashley's head whips up at Ava's words. "A probe?"

Ava laughs, "Yeah I have to insert the ultrasound probe to get to your ovaries, and get the eggs, those drugs you've been taking should have stimulated egg production so there should be plenty for me to aim at."

Ava is trying to keep it as playful as she can. Ashley is still fixated on the probe. "Where exactly do you insert this probe?"

For someone as seemingly intelligent as her friend is supposed to be, she isn't half being dense right now. Ava laughs. "Where do you think Eden?"

That's what Ashley was worried about, obviously she assumed this was probably the case, but she can't help but voice her disgust, knowing her friend will take it in the good banter it is intended. "So I'm gunna have to get my bits out for you?"

This makes Ava really laugh, and Ashley can't help but join her. "I'm afraid so Eden. If you want to have a baby that is."

Now for Ashley's next concern, "Is it going to hurt?"

Ava stops laughing but the smile doesn't completely drop from her face, as much as Eden likes to play the tough guy, she knows that she hates doctors and medical procedures, and more to the point, pain.

"Well it will last about 30 minutes, and I won't lie, its gunna be a little uncomfortable. But I can give you some Anaesthesia to help with this."

"What's the next step after today?" Ashley as usual is eager to have a clear time line in mind.

"Well, once I've got you eggs, I will mix them with the sperm from the donor you guys have chosen, and then they'll go in the incubator for a few days, then if everything is going okay and progressing as normal, we'll get Stella in at the end of the week, for the transferring procedure, when we'll implant the embryos into her womb. Which by the way, will take about ten minutes, and won't hurt at all."

She can't help the playful dig, she actual winks at Eden as she says it.

"Great. So I've pulled the short straw then?"

"Oh yeah, 30 minutes of uncomfortableness, versus nine months of pregnancy, and child birth. You got the raw deal."

Ashley loves her friend's sarcasm; they're very similar in this respect.

"Right let's get this over with." Ashley is eager to get things underway. She can't help but give her buddy a little dose of banter back first. "Now Ava, when you see me naked, try not to fall in love with me."

Ava just rolls her eyes, Ashley continues. "Cos you know I kinda like your Husband, and things could get awkward."

"I will try to contain myself." She says it dead pan, in a way that means Ashley can't help to laugh out loud.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ava wasn't kidding about the procedure being uncomfortable. But the good news is that it was successful, they harvested a lot of good eggs, and Ava was starting the fertilisation process immediately.

Ashley hadn't bargained on it hurting quite as much, so she hadn't thought ahead to book the rest of the day off work, as such she had just gotten back to the lab. She headed immediately to Stella's office and let herself in, without a word to Stella, who is sitting at her desk. She looks at her wife as she lowers herself gingerly into the chair opposite. She can tell there's something wrong. She just looks at Eden over the top of her glasses; it doesn't look as though she's going to offer an explanation any time soon.

"Is everything okay Shorty?"

"It kinda hurt you know."

"What the procedure?" Stella can tell it can't have been a pleasant experience due to the expression on Eden's face. Ashley just nods, to confirm she is talking about to procedure.

Stella now genuinely concerned, moves round and sits on the arm of her wife's chair, and puts her arms around her.

"Poor baby. Do you want me to kiss it better?" Stella smiles, hoping that Eden will smile too. Her little joke certainly has the desired effect, Ashley smirks at her spouse, but leaves her in no doubt of the fact that she is in some deal of discomfort.

"Not a chance. Nobody is going anywhere near anything down there for a good few days."

"Wow, it must be bad, if you're refusing sex."

"Ava said I should be back to normal by the morning."

Stella kisses the top of her head, and squeezes her a little tighter. "Did everything go okay?"

"Everything went perfect. You should be getting a call to go in at the end of the week, to go and get pregnant."

The excitement grows in both of them. Stella's certain her heart just skipped a beat.

"Right you, go home." Stella's words take Ashley by surprise. "Go on I'll clear it with Mac, go home have a nice hot bath. I'll try and get off early too, to come look after you."

"I knew being married to the boss had its perks."

Ashley grabs a kiss from Stella, she's not about to pass her up on her offer. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." Stella in so unbelievably in love with this woman, she would do anything for her, giving her the afternoon off, seems so insignificant compared to the gift Eden is giving her.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Later that week Stella had, had the call. She was currently at Ava's office, having the embryos implanted. A very distracted Ashley is currently out in the field with Flack, they along with Lindsay are presently investigating a double homicide.

Thankfully Ashley is on photo duty today, so she is just studying the crime scene, and photographing the body and anything of interest. Flack has obviously picked up on the fact that her mind is elsewhere.

"Hey yo Ash, is everything okay?"

Ashley is pulled from her thoughts, she knows Flack has spoken, but she has no idea what he's said. "Huh?"

"Do you wanna join the rest of us back down here on planet earth?"

Again Ashley doesn't have the concentration level to take in what Flack has said. "Huh?"

Flack has to laugh initially, but it's not long before he starts to worry, it's not like his best friend to be this distracted at work, she's an ultimate pro, he knows that whatever's on her mind must be damn important.

"Ashley." He grabs her shoulder to fully gain her attention. "Seriously is everything okay?"

She knows she can't tell him the truth, Stella would kill her. While she's thinking over exactly what she can tell him, her lack of answer has Flack racking his brain for what the matter could be.

"Is everything okay between you and Stella?"

"Yes. Yeah, me and Stella are great. Fantastic even."

This calms Flack a lot, he removes his hand from her shoulder, and just as Ashley is about to give some feeble excuse as to what exactly is wrong with her, her cell phone rings. Saved by the bell. She quickly checks the caller ID, its Stella.

"Excuse me, I've gotta take this."

The speed at which she exits the room intrigues Flack, but he guesses if there is something to tell, she will tell him soon enough.

Ashley answers the call as soon as she hits the front garden of the property she is currently investigating. She doesn't even extend a 'hello' to Stella; she just needs to know that everything has gone okay.

"How was it?"

Stella has to laugh; she can tell Eden must have been waiting for her call. She's not going to make her wife wait any longer. "Everything went great."

The relief pours out of Ashley. "That's fantastic."

"I know." Stella can't contain her excitement. "Now get your ass home as soon as possible."

This takes Ashley by surprise. "What, why?"

"Eden." She practically squeals. "Today could well be the day I get pregnant. I want my wife to make love to me on the day I get pregnant."

"Oh, okay." In her head Eden is thinking it's going to be hours before she gets home, they've still got lots to do at the scene. But she knows how important this is to Stella.

"I'll try my best Honey, but there's still quite a bit to get through here."

"Hey, you don't have to be home early, just before midnight."

"Wow I feel like Cinderella."

Stella chuckles. "Just promise me you'll try your best."

"I promise."

The call ends, and Ashley re enters the scene, with a renewed vigour and appetite to power through this case as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. After all, the incentive to get home on time has never been greater.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley did make it home that night. They certainly made the most of it. Since then it had been an agonising two weeks, Ava had told them in no uncertain terms that they had to wait at least two weeks, before doing a pregnancy test. Something about how the fertility drugs Stella took at the transfer stage would give a false positive until they were completely out of her system, which generally takes up to ten days, but Ava really stressed that she'd prefer them to give it at least two weeks to be sure, the last thing she wanted was unnecessary heartache for them. Which to be fair is the last thing Stella and Ashley wanted.

So they waited, and waited, and waited, and the two weeks felt like about three years. Ashley is on edge. She's on her way home to Stella now, pregnancy test in hand. Well that's actually a lie, she has about fifteen different tests, all different brands, she is not taking anything for granted, she wants to make sure, before they get their hopes up. Ava told them to do the home pregnancy test, and if that was positive then she would schedule a proper one.

She practically flies through the door of hers and Stella's apartment. Stella finished work an hour or so before her. She laughs as she finds her wife sitting at the island in the kitchen, glass of some kind of pink looking liquid in hand, half empty jug of the stuff on the counter in front of her. Ashley smiles, she bets Stella's been drinking liquids all afternoon, which is good she supposed, she has got around thirty sticks to pee on, the majority of these tests are 'two packs' after all.

Stella looks up expectantly when she hears the door to the apartment open. She isn't disappointed when she sees her stunning wife enter the room, she is however wondering what she's smirking at.

"What's that?" Ashley nods her head towards the aforementioned pink stuff.

"Pink Lemonade." Stella hasn't got time for small talk. "Did you get the tests?"

Ashley grins at her eagerness, and instead of answering her question, she empties the plastic bag she's holding all over the kitchen island. A sea of pregnancy tests.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They decided to just do one to start with. After all if they weren't pregnant, the last thing they want is thirty negative tests lying around to remind them. So Stella had gone into the bathroom attached to their bedroom, and done the business, as it where, and Ashley had sat on the floor at the end of the bed waiting.

Stella joined her, she left the pregnancy test in the bathroom, they take about three minutes to get the results. Now doubt this would feel like about three days. Stella leans her head on her wife's shoulder.

"What if it's negative?" Stella voices the question that on both of their minds, the question that causing all of the tension in the air at the moment.

Ashley dreads to think. She didn't fully realise until right now, until she was sitting here on the cusp of parenthood, and the brink of all this possibility, just how much she wants this. She thought this was always Stella's thing, and as much as she thought she wanted kids, she was probably going along with it more, because she knew Stella was desperate for a family.

But sitting here, thinking about a negative test, makes her feel sick, it makes a lump form in throat, so big she can hardly swallow. She's desperate too, desperate for the test to be positive. Desperate, for a child of her own, desperate for her and Stella to add to their family. Desperate to have an even greater connection to this wonderful woman, this amazing woman who has changed her life so completely.

This woman that she loves so much, she knows that if she's scared Stella will be ten times worse, she needs to be strong, so she swallows down that lump in her throat, and musters the next sentence with as much confidence as she can.

"Well if it's negative, then we just try again."

They both sit in quiet contemplation. Then Stella suddenly seems to remember that they're doing something, in almost a panic she blurts out. "How long has it been?"

Ashley, who had also become lost in her own thoughts, quickly snaps her left hand to her face, and looks at her watch which she's been keeping time on.

"Three and a half minutes." She lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and looks at Stella, who rather excitedly runs into the bathroom, and just as quickly runs back into the bedroom, and plants herself down next to her wife once more the whole time with the pregnancy test concealed from her view and from Eden's, who is a little confused at her wife's actions. Stella explains.

"We check together on three. Deal?"

Ashley smiles, of course she wants them both to find out at exactly the same time. Ashley just nods her head, and they both count down in unison, both terrified and excited in equal measure.

"Three . . . Two . . . One . . ."

**XXXXXXXXX**

Let me know what you think. Review, review, review. Or tweet me AT Eden_Ashley_Chr


	29. Chapter 29

**As usual, sorry this update has taken so long. Hopefully the updates will come thick and fast – well slightly more quickly now. Let me know what you think. Review please.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

"Wait, what does two lines mean?" Ashley jumps up and runs back into the bathroom to check the instructions.

Stella just smiles. "We really shoulda read the instructions beforehand."

Ashley isn't really listening to her wife, she slowly walks out of the bathroom frantically looking at the crumpled piece of paper in her hands, she flips it over and scans the other side. Stella can't take her eyes from her wife she needs to know, she's watching for any change in demeanour.

Ashley see's what she needs to, she stops still her hands drop to her side, Stella watches intently, but she can't read her. She can't take the tension. "Well?"

Ashley snaps out of her daze and looks down at Stella. "Two stripes means pregnant."

"Really?" Stella questions gently.

"Really." Ashley is on the verge of tears, she feels so unbelievably overwhelmed emotionally, but so incredibly happy at the same time. She needs to be sure though.

"Right. Do another one."

Stella immediately agrees, she just nods her head at her wife who practically runs out into the kitchen to grab some more tests, she shouts over her shoulder at Stella as she exits the room.

"I think I got ones that actually say, 'Pregnant' or 'Not Pregnant'. Probably better for us."

Stella just chuckles at her wife's words.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Around three gallons of pink lemonade and 30 pregnancy tests later, 29 of which have been positive, Stella and Eden are currently lounging on their sofa, feeling pretty pleased with themselves. Ashley has called Ava and a clinic pregnancy test has been scheduled in for first thing tomorrow.

Stella is laid on the sofa with Eden in front of her, head leaning back onto Stella's chest. They are both lost in thought. Ashley thought her mind would be pre-occupied with planning, but all she can think about is what her child might look like. Kids really do turn your mind to mush.

Stella on the other hand is actually surprised at her own train of thought. For some reason she's thinking about Frankie, her ex boyfriend, who she had killed in self defence. She had never spoken to Eden about him, but now she has the overwhelming urge to bring it up, and she's not sure why. She guesses she just feels like Eden needs to know everything about her, they're bringing a child into the world, and Eden needs to know exactly what she's capable of. Without thinking she just blurts it out.

"I killed an ex boyfriend."

Of all the things Ashley was expecting to hear at that precise moment in time, those five words were definitely bottom of the list. She pulls herself up into a sitting position and turns to face Stella, with a look on her face which most definitely conveys 'why the hell have you just brought that up?'

Stella feels rather sheepish, she can barely look Eden in the eyes, she just takes a deep breath, and repeats the words again.

"I killed an ex boyfriend."

It appears that's all Ashley is going to get from her wife for the time being, so she offers her response.

"Frankie Mala?"

"You know?" Stella is genuinely surprised.

"Well yeah, it made the news at the time Stel." She's speak as gently as possible, still not sure exactly what's going on, but aware that Stella looks a little unstable emotionally.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew?"

"It wasn't my story to bring up?"

Stella smiles, she feels so stupid. "You must think I'm such an idiot, pushing you to tell me all about your attack, and all along I didn't have the guts to tell you about mine."

Stella can't help the tears that fall from her eyes. Ashley just feels incredibly sad, she still doesn't know where all this is coming from. "Hey, you didn't push me to tell you anything." She grabs Stella's hand to reiterate her words.

"I told you when I was ready to tell you, and I just assumed that you would do the same with this."

Stella just nods, tears still falling. Ashley continues gently. "What I don't understand, is why now?"

Stella's not sure she knows herself, other that this fear she's currently feeling. "Doesn't it worry you that I killed my partner?"

"Worry me?" Ashley is genuinely concerned about Stella's frame of mind.

"Yeah, you know that I might lose my temper. I mean we're both cops Eden, there are plenty of guns in the apartment."

Ashley can't believe her ears; surely the pregnancy hormones can't be making Stella insane already.

"I know you're not insinuating what I think you are." Stella just looks away; she doesn't know why she's doing this. Ashley continues, as she does she pulls on Stella's hand causing her to look at her.

"But for the record, I know that you shot him in self defence. That the simple choice was him or you, and I for one am glad that you came out of the other side. So no it doesn't worry me. It fills me with pride that the woman I love is strong enough to not be a victim, and is willing to stop at nothing to protect herself, and I know that that protection extends to the people she loves. You would stop at nothing to protect me or that little baby growing inside of you, and that makes us the luckiest family alive."

Ashley gestures at Stella's stomach as she finishes her little speech.

"Stella, I'm not scared of you, and I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt me, or our children."

Unbelievable, Stella can't believe it; Eden once again proves she knows her better than she knows herself. She has said exactly what she needed to hear, After Eden's impassioned plea, Stella feels stupid for even worrying about it to start with, she knows she could never hurt her own family, but as ridiculous as it seems, she just needed to hear Eden say it.

Ashley's still slightly worried that Stella hasn't spoken, but she has stopped crying, so she hopes this absurd notion is out of her head now. She decides to try and lighten the mood.

"Plus, I know I can be annoying some times, but I like to think even I couldn't piss you off that much." She smiles her little joke has had the desired effect, Stella smiles back and grabs her into a hug. Feeling pretty stupid.

"I'm sorry. I guess now this is really happening. Now I have your baby growing inside of me, I'm just terrified I'm gunna mess things up."

"Hey, I'm scared too. But I think you shooting our baby is probably the least of our worries."

Stella laughs again at her own stupidity and buries her head into the crook of Eden's neck to try and hide her embarrassment. Ashley just kisses the top her head and smiles. Wow babies really do make people crazy.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Well its official, Stella is two weeks pregnant; she and Ashley have been walking on air ever since Ava officially confirmed the news this morning. They arrived at work a couple of hours ago, Stella has gone out on assignment with Hawkes, and Ashley immediately knows she is going to be overly over protective of Stella now she's pregnant, she is worried sick that something bad might happen. Her focus has been on the elevator since Stella stepped out of it, and she knows she'll only feel at ease, when she's back in the lab safe and sound. Ashley really hopes this wears off, because she hasn't been able to concentrate on anything.

Another thing stressing her out is Mac, every time she sees him; she flees in the opposite direction. She is dying to tell him he's going to be a grandpa, but she knows Stella will kill her if she does. She really doesn't trust herself to not just blurt it out, hence the avoidance tactics. It's a lot easier to avoid her grandmother, with her being on the other side of the country, but she guesses their daily Skype sessions are about to get a lot more interesting.

Mac was beginning to develop a complex, every time he's seen his daughter today she has run away from him, he's determined to get the bottom of it, as he cant for the life of him think what's he's done to upset her so much.

He spots Eden sitting in the DNA lab, she doesn't appear to be doing much work though, she's just fixated on the entrance. She is definitely distracted by something. He walks up gently behind her.

"Eden." He says it softly enough, but such is Ashley's concentration on the corridor, it really takes her by surprise and scares the life out of her, she nearly falls right off the seat she's sitting in.

After taking a few breaths to regain her composure, she realises who's standing in front of her. "Dad hey."

"What's going on Eden?"

"What do you mean?" Ashley knows exactly what he means; she's trying to buy herself some time, to think about what she's going to say to him.

"You've been running away from me all morning. You're distracted; you all but jumped out of your skin just now." Mac is really starting to worry.

He watches as Eden wracks her brains, she has no idea what to say to him. "Eden I mean it I want an explanation."

She can't do this, she can't lie to him. "Roof?"

He just nods; he knows this is Eden's refuge. He follows her straight up to the roof, and watches as she leans on the wall and looks out over the city. She hasn't spoken for a few minutes. Mac hasn't taken his eyes off of her.

"Are you in some sort of trouble?"

Ashley smiles at Mac's words. "No. It's nothing bad."

She hopes that calms her father a little. It does, he takes a deep breath, it's almost in relief, and joins her at the wall, looking out over New York.

Ashley really is fighting with herself internally. She agreed with Stella they would wait until three months has passed before telling anyone. But she desperately wants to tell Mac.

She still hasn't spoken. "You're gunna have to help me out here Eden. I don't think I'll be able to guess anytime this week."

Ashley smiles. "You have to promise me you won't tell Stella."

"Why is it every time you bring me up on this roof, you make me promise to keep a secret from my oldest friend?" he smiles to show he's only being half serious.

"Well technically, you won't be keeping a secret from Stella, she already knows. She just doesn't want you to know."

She realises that sounded slightly harsh. No going back now. "You're going to be a grandpa."

Mac was reeling a little from Eden's previous statement about Stella wanting to keep secrets from him, he heard the word grandpa, the shock hit his face immediately, then a huge smile. He can't believe it. He knows last time they were up here Eden told him they were thinking of starting a family, but he had no idea that they had actually really looked into it. He pulls her into a hug, he is feeling overwhelmed and emotional by Eden's news, he has about a million and one questions to ask, and it appears his brain has stopped working properly, he just blurts them all out.

"What? When? How? Who? Why doesn't Stella want me to know?"

Ashley laughs out loud; Mac can't help but join her. She thinks over the questions he's just thrown at her and tries her best to answer them all.

"You're going to be a grandpa. We are two weeks into the pregnancy. I m not sure you really want me to go into the how. Stella is pregnant. And of course she wants you to know, she's just really panicky about telling anyone before the end of the first trimester." She thinks that's covered everything.

That was a lot of information for Mac to take in. He's developed about a million more questions. He decides to take a breath and ask them in more normal manner.

"Yeah I hear its bad luck to tell anyone in the first three months."

He see's Eden's face drop. "Hey, its and old wives tale okay. Nothing bad is going to happen because you've told me."

Now he understands why it was such an effort for Eden to tell him.

"So Stella's pregnant?"

Ashley can't help the smile that hits her face, hearing someone else say it made it even more real. "Yeah, like I say two weeks. But it's my baby."

Mac looks bewildered; he doesn't want to ask the obvious question for fear of looking stupid. Eden chuckles and takes pity on him.

"One of my eggs was fertilised and implanted into Stella." She doesn't want to get too technical with him. "But what that means is, that this baby will have Taylor blood in its veins. So you will be a Grandpa in every sense of the word."

This tips Mac over the edge emotionally, he can't speak, he just pulls his daughter in for another hug, and he really doesn't think he's been happier than this in his entire life. After a minute or so, father and daughter have composed themselves; Eden has gone back to staring out over the city.

"That's why I've been so distracted today. With Stella out at a scene, I'm just a thousand times more worried than I normally would be."

"I'm sure you'll get used to that. I know Danny did." He looks at this beautiful young woman before him, and can't believe he's been blessed with such a truly amazing, caring daughter.

"You're going to make a wonderful mother. Two weeks in and your already worrying like crazy."

"That's the thing, if I keep this amount of worry up, and I'm scared I will actually make myself crazy."

Mac giggles. "Give it time. I think the three month mark will calm you both down."

"It really can't come soon enough." Ashley really means it, she can't wait to hit three months, not only will they be out of the woods danger wise, but she'll be able to tell everyone. She can't wait to tell Flack and Adam, she can't wait to talk to Danny about what it's like having a pregnant wife; she has about a billion questions for him already.

"It will be here before you know it. Then you'll have an actual baby to worry about."

Again the look of panic on Eden's face makes Mac laugh out loud. "Sorry to be a smack of reality there Honey."

She exhales loudly, she was worrying so much about the pregnancy she hadn't even thought about the impending mother hood that would follow.

"You and Stella will be fine."

"I know we will. And we'll have the world's number one Grandpa on hand for babysitting whenever we want."

Now it's Ashley's turn to smirk, but rather than panic Mac, it fills him with excitement. "Absolutely. Now come on, let's get back to work."

They had back down into the lab, Ashley feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. She's not looking forward to telling Stella that she's told Mac.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella arrives back at the lab, she needs to speak to Eden, so she's pleased when she enters her office and sees her wife sprawled out on the sofa.

"I see you're hard at work."

Ashley looks up immediately, as soon as she sees Stella she's on her feet. "Are you okay? How was the scene?"

She reaches out and puts her hand on Stella's stomach as she speaks. Stella has honestly never felt more loved than she does now. She places her hand on top of Eden's on her stomach.

"The scene was fine, I'm fine." She smiles as she speaks.

"Thank God for that. Stella I've been worried sick, I don't think I can cope living every day like today."

Stella knows today has been difficult for Eden, the text messages she's received every five minutes asking her how she is where testament to that. She's decided that Eden needs to share the burden, before she drives herself insane, or drives Stella insane. Truth be told she was a little scared herself today, any small knock she took, she panicked. She kinda feels like they both need someone to talk to outside of the pregnancy.

"I think we should tell Mac." She looks Eden directly in the eyes.

She can read her expression instantly. "You've already told him haven't you?"

"Yeah sorry." She feels bad. "If it's any consolation I told him not to tell you that I'd told him."

Stella smiles. Ashley has to ask. "Why the change of heart?"

"You're gunna drive me crazy if you don't have someone else to talk to about this." She says it completely dead pan. Ashley starts to take offence, until Stella can no longer keep the smirk off her face.

Ashley just tuts and shakes her head. Stella offers her a more accurate explanation. "I just kinda feel like we need all the help we can get. You know how scared you feel?"

Ashley nods to confirm that she is scared, like the most scared she's ever been. Stella continues. "Well I think I'm probably about ten times more scared. No actually make that a hundred times more scared."

"Really?"

"Really, and usually if I'm scared, I would run to you, but before you came along, I would run to Mac. I kinda feel like we both need him for this."

"Phew." Ashley is really relieved. She pulls Stella into a hug, and they stay like that for some time. Happy that they are really going to deal with this as a family. Now Ashley just has her Grandmother to worry about.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Please please please, take the time to review. Or drop me a comment on Twitter AT Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

**THANKS TO THE FEW WHO HAVE STUCK WITH ME THROUGHOUT THIS STORY. IT'S STILL GOING STRONG; HOPEFULLY YOU'LL BE PLEASED TO KNOW THERES STILL PLENTY MORE TO COME. I DO LOVE WRITING THIS STORY. ANYWAY, AS ALWAYS DROP ME A REVIEW, THEY REALLY DO GET ME THROUGH THE WRITERS BLOCK! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.**

Well the day has finally arrived. Stella is officially three months pregnant. Ashley is delighted. She has been dying to tell everyone since they'd found out, the amount of times she'd come close to spilling it to Flack or Adam, the amount of times she's cut short her Skype sessions with her Grandmother Audrey and blamed it on a 'technical hitch.' Now finally she can shout it from the rooftops.

Stella is so happy; she too finally gets to tell Lindsay, she's been looking forward to having lots of 'pregnancy chats' with her best friend. Although she thinks Lindsay may have inkling already, Stella has been suffering with morning sickness, and every time she leaves the ladies room at the lab with that 'pregnancy glow' Lindsay always seems to be around with a knowing look on her face.

Stella has a small bump now, and if she's honest she loves it, she can't stop touching it, can't wait for it to get bigger. It seems Eden has grown the same obsession; she can't keep her hands off her. They have their first official scan later on today, and as soon as they get the all clear everyone is going to know. But before all that, Ashley's grandmother Audrey's fight is due in any second.

So here Ashley is again in JFK airport, waiting for her Grandmothers flight from Chicago to land, she's primarily been based in Chicago as that's where Zane and Sienna go to school. They couldn't make the trip with her for that very reason, and as much as Ashley would have loved to tell them all together, face to face, she knows she absolutely has to tell her Grandmother in person. She would never forgive her if she didn't.

Ashley is pulled from her thoughts when she sees the unmistakable smile plastered on her Grandmothers face, she quickly moves towards her and pulls her into a bear hug, and kisses her on the cheek, before passing her the bunch of lilies she daren't not bring with her.

Audrey gives her Granddaughter a wry smile before speaking. "Tell me Eden Alexa, what was so important that you had to drag me all the way to New York?"

Ashley can't help the excited smile that hits her face. "All will be revealed soon Grandmother. We'll grab your bags, and then head back to the lab. Mac's gunna take you for lunch."

Now Audrey is really intrigued.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley and Stella have basically just palmed Audrey off on Mac. Ashley could tell her grandmother was not impressed. But they wanted to get the all clear before they go around telling everyone, of course they'll still tell Audrey no matter what, but they'd rather have everything confirmed first.

They are currently at Ava's office, their first official scan. Stella is lying on the bed stomach exposed, and Ashley is holding her hand, already staring at the screen, even though Ava hasn't put the transducer on Stella's stomach yet, Ava chuckles at her friend's eagerness.

"Right Stella, I'm gunna put some gel on your stomach, it might be a bit cold."

Stella nods, and Ava rubs the gel over her new friend's slight bump. "Now I'm going to place the handheld part of the machine onto your stomach. Then Ashley there'll actually be something worth looking at on that screen."

Stella and Ava both laugh at Eden as she pulls her glare from the screen. "Sorry I'm just really excited."

Stella squeezes her wife's hand before fully concentrating again on what Ava is saying. "You will be able to hear the heartbeat too."

Ashley looks at Stella and smiles, who smiles back. They are both excited and nervous in equal measure, they both hope with all their hearts that everything is okay. Ava places the white probe onto Stella's stomach. They both hold their breath. Scared stiff.

Ashley is waiting for a heartbeat to sound, so much so that she thinks her own heart actually stops beating, not only that, but she's looking intently at the screen, she can't really decipher anything though, it's just a big blur to her.

Ava moves the probe around on Stella's stomach, until she settles on what she apparently needs to see. Although Stella had laughed at her wife a few minutes ago now, she too has become engrossed in the small monitor.

The heartbeat kicks in, and they both hear it through the microphone on the monitor. Ashley exhales, that's got to be a good sign right? Although on a closer listen Ashley thinks it sounds a little weird, it doesn't seem to be a uniform beat; she looks at Ava, whose current expression does nothing to quell her fear. Stella catches Eden looking at Ava, and then she two picks up on the expression on Ava's face, but she can't help but panic and ask what's happening.

"Ava what's going on?" Ava pulls the portable monitor closer to her so she can get a better look, but doesn't answer Stella's question.

Ashley too is now in full scale panic mode. "It's the heartbeat isn't it? It sounds strange."

Ava seems to suddenly realise that the two expectant Mums' are out of their mind with worry. She smiles, which calms them slightly, and then turns the monitor, so they can both see.

"Guys calm down. Do you see this?" Ava points at what looks like a slightly misshapen circle on the screen. They both nod, unable to speak.

"This is your baby, 12 weeks, perfectly formed, healthy."

The relief pours from the two women; Ashley lowers her head and kisses Stella's hand, which she is holding in a vice like grip. Stella just takes a deep breath and squeeze's Eden's hand even more. Ava makes herself heard again.

"I'm not finished yet ladies." There's that panic back with a vengeance. She decides to put them out of their misery as quickly as she can.

"You see this?" She points at another misshapen circle, to be honest Ashley had assumed this was part of the first circle. Again both women nod, Ava could actually laugh at the confused faces on the two women.

"This is your baby, 12 weeks perfectly formed, healthy."

Now they are both extremely bewildered, Stella just looks at the screen trying to figure out what Ava is talking about. Ashley doesn't have as much restraint as her wife, she voices her confusion.

"Have we just entered groundhog day? Ava you've just told us that."

Ava smiles and looks from Eden to Stella, back to Eden again, wow it appears they really haven't got it.

"You guys! You know for intelligent women, you really are being dense right now."

Ashley really hopes her friend explains herself soon; she feels like she's gunna have a heart attack. Nope they still aren't getting it; Ava is in fact going to have to spell it out.

"Twins ladies. You're having twins, non-identical, but twins all the same."

Stella can't help the smile that hits her face, although she's almost certain that's because there is nothing wrong with her baby, sorry babies. Ava continues to speak, but it all a bit of a haze to Stella and Ashley.

"Two perfectly healthy, normally developing babies. Congratulations guys."

Neither speaks. Ava can tell they are both in shock. "I'll give you guys a second." Ava exits her exam room, giggling to herself, she knows how worried Ashley's been about one baby, god knows how she feels about two.

"Two babies." It's all Ashley can manage at the moment. Stella just looks down at her wife, she's not sure if it's a question or a statement of fact.

"Are you okay Shorty?" Eden seems to be in a trance, Stella is slightly worried.

Ashley snaps out of it. "Do you really think we can cope with two babies?"

Stella smile. "Yes."

That was all Ashley needed to hear, she smiles at her wife, and gets up from the chair she's been sitting in, she kisses Stella firmly on the lips, before pulling back, the grin on her face is the widest Stella's ever seen it.

"Two babies." This time Eden says these two words, it's full of excitement and possibility. Stella can't help but get excited too. She grabs Eden's face and brings her lips back to her own, this time the kiss is more than a quick peck, it's filled with love.

They pull apart when they hear the sound of someone clearing their fault; it seems Ava has joined them again.

"I take it the news has sunk in now then?" Ava can't help but grin. She starts to rub the gel from Stella's stomach with a wet wipe.

"You know, the way you deliver news leaves a lot to be desired." Ashley wiggles her eyebrows at Ava.

"I knew you two could take it." She smiles at Stella. "So are we happy that's its gunna be double the fun?"

"Ecstatic." Stella really is. She knows it will be hard, but she can't wait.

"I printed you guys a few screenshots, I figured Audrey will be demanding one to take with her, so I made a fair few copies for you."

She hands the envelope to Ashley, who smiles gratefully at her friend. "Thank you."

"Okay, now we know its twins, I want to be extra careful. So I want you back in, in four weeks for the next scan."

Stella nods. Ava hands her an envelope of her own. "This is some reading for you. Twins is a whole different ball game."

Stella peeks in the envelope intrigued, Ava explains a little. "You'll need to rest more, gain more wait, have more regular check ups. But read the literature, and we'll go through it fully on your next appointment."

"Great, thanks Ava." Stella pulls her sweater back down over her stomach, and jumps off the table.

Ashley jumps up and takes Stella's hand, before turning to Ava.

"Always a pleasure." She pulls her friend into a hug, and kisses her on the check, Stella follows the same pattern.

"Make an appointment with my secretary on your way out, and I'll see you guys in four weeks."

They happily make their way out of the office, Ashley can't wait any longer she pulls one of the photo's out of her envelope, and she and Stella both look at it excitedly, you can make out the two separate embryos on the screen shot. Perfect.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Audrey Harbridge is not impressed. She arrived in New York around lunch time. It's now around 5.30pm and the two people she really came to see, namely Eden and Stella, have been nowhere to be seen. She saw Eden earlier obviously at the airport, but since then nothing. She has been well and truly fobbed off on Mac, and he's been acting shady too. She wants to know what's going on.

She's sitting in Stella's office in Stella's chair actually, handbag on knee, waiting for her Granddaughter and Granddaughter-in-law to arrive and give her some sort of explanation.

It appears her wait is over. Stella and Eden walk through the door of Stella's office, smiling and joking. Audrey fails to see what's so funny. Ashley stops smiling as soon as she sees the look on her Grandmother's face. She is not a happy bunny, Stella has also picked up on this vibe, it seems Audrey's annoyance is about to be vented.

"Eden Alexa Ashley Bonasera." Ashley actually flinches. Stella feels sorry for her wife, but deep down she's glad that she's not being told off. Audrey continues.

"Did you really invite me to New York, to spend the entire first day with Mac? I mean don't get me wrong, I like the man, but I would have liked to spend a bit more time with the two of you."

Before her grandmother goes off on a complete tangent, Ashley interrupts.

"I'm sorry. But we're here now, and we're all going to go for dinner as a family. Mac too." Ashley has her hands up in a defensive manner, hoping this appeases her Grandmother. Audrey knows there's more to this.

"Eden. What's going on?" The old ladies eyes are pleading, Ashley almost cracks under the pressure, she has to give her Grandmother some snippet of information to hold onto.

"Look we have asked you to come here for a reason, but all will be revealed over dinner okay?" Ashley gives Audrey her best 'pleading eyes.' It seems to have the desired effect, Audrey just nods, and she supposes she will find out soon enough what the hell is going on.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The four of them, the irregular family, yet family all the same, have been at the restaurant for about 20 minutes. They have just ordered. Ashley can tell her grandmother is sulking. She decides, no time like the present to put her out of her misery.

"Okay so as you know, we do have some news." Audrey perks up immediately, this better be worth it.

Ashley wants to get one thing straight from the off. "Now I want you to know, that Mac already knows." Audrey eyes Mac suspiciously; he's wearing rather a sheepish grin right now. Ashley carries on.

"But he doesn't actually know the full story."

Now it's Mac's turn to look shocked, Audrey can feel the triumphant smile hit her face, in reaction to Mac's currently expression. But the smile is only there momentarily, her focus is almost immediately back on Eden and Stella. Eden is struggling with how to word the next part; Audrey clearly doesn't have the patience to wait.

"Come on child, what is it?"

Ashley decides to just blurt it out. "Stella's pregnant. You're gunna be a Great Grandmother." Audrey's brain processes the information, she is delighted, so delighted in fact she doesn't really know how to convey her current feelings, she moves immediately round the table and pulls her Granddaughter and her wife into a hug, when she pulls back she realises she crying, which in turn make Ashley blub.

"A baby?" She reaches out and places a hand on Stella's stomach, which Stella is more than happy to accommodate.

It's her grandmothers words, which make Ashley realise there's more to this story that she needs to get out.

"No not a baby."

Now Audrey's confused, so is Mac. Stella can see mass confusion all round. She places a hand on top of Audrey's hand on her stomach, this gets her attention and Mac's all eyes are on her now, she decides to finish the tale her wife has started.

"Two babies."

Audrey actually gasps, full on open mouthed gasps. Ashley can't help but laugh, she looks over at Mac, who looks as happy as he did the day he found out that there was one baby, he catches Eden looking at him so she takes the opportunity to explain.

"We found out today at the appointment." Mac just nods, he really is feeling very emotional.

Eventually Audrey moves back round to her side of the table, and the four of them enjoy a wonderful dinner. All talk is of course baby related. One thing's for sure, the Harbridge-Taylor-Bonasera family, is a happy one right now.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Stella had arranged for Lindsay to come round that evening, she can wait to tell her best friend. So she and Audrey had headed back to the apartment, Ashley on the other hand has a date with her boys, Adam and Flack, and Lindsay has taken Lucy with her, so Danny has been lucky enough to be released for the evening, however he's still not drinking after the Santiago incident.

She's just walked into the bar, and she sees the three of them immediately. Flack is animated, he must be telling one of his stories, it must be a good one, as the other two are completely engrossed in whatever he's talking about. Ashley joins them at the table, Flack immediately stops his story.

"Hey, here she is."

Adam passes her a beer; she eyes Danny's glass of orange juice, and raises an eyebrow. This isn't lost on Danny, or Flack or Adam, who smirk at him, he decides to defend himself.

"Come on guys, you know Lindsay will kill me if I come home smashed."

"I think as long as you actually make it home she won't be too bothered either way." Ashley can't help but tease him; he made it far too easy for her. Flack high fives her. Adam just laughs.

"What if I told you we are celebrating?" This gets all three of their attention. All eyes are firmly on her, none of them speak, but all are wearing expressions that clearly scream, 'well what are we celebrating?'

Ashley looks at all three of them whilst taking a swig of her beer, before deciding to put them out of their misery.

"Stella's pregnant."

They all look like their eyes are about to pop out of their heads. But all three are now wearing brilliant smiles, before anyone has a chance to get a congratulations, or a question in, Ashley speaks again.

"That's not the best part."

Adam is intrigued and apparently the only one of them that has regained the ability to speak. "What is the best part?"

"It's twins."

That's it, the three guys immediately run around the table and dive on Ashley, bear hugs all round. Ashley giggles, she really loves these guys. Once they release her, she composes herself.

"So what do you reckon, are you three ready to be Uncles?"

"Hell yes." Flack is so excited. "Right this calls for Champagne. Danny, get rid of that juice. There is drinking to be done."

Danny is still a little wary of drinking, he looks over at Eden. "I take it this is the reason Lindsay is going to yours tonight." Ashley just nods. "I guess in light of this news, she won't mind me having a couple."

"That's what I like to hear." Flack has returned from the bar with a huge bottle of Champers and 4 glasses, he pours the drinks and passes them out, before raising his glass in a toast, the others follows suit.

"To Eden and Stella, I for one can't wait to see them attempt to handle two babies."

Flack smirks and winks at her, and Ashley smiles back at him, they all clink glasses.

"Let the drinking commence." Ashley is in the mood to celebrate, to be fair, she needs to do it while she still can, she doubts there will be time for this when there are two babies to attend to.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Lindsay and Lucy had arrived at Stella's about an hour ago, the three woman, the two CSI's and Audrey have worn Lucy out and put her down for a sleep in the guest room. Lindsay is excited, although she and Lucy often come round and have these play dates with Stella and Eden, she knows there's more to this one.

Stella can't hold it in any longer, she and Lindsay are sitting on the couch and Audrey is lounging in a chair, they have all been happily chatting, Stella decides it's time to turn the conversation up a notch.

"So Lindsay, you probably guessed, I asked you round here for a reason."

A Cheshire cat like grin hits Lindsay's face. Stella takes this as a sign to continue. "So. Erm. I'm three months pregnant."

Lindsay actually squeals. "I knew it. I knew you were having morning sickness." She dives on Stella, and the two women embrace, Audrey just watches them both, her granddaughter has so many amazing people around her in New York, no wonder she loves it here.

Lindsay pulls back. "Right I want to know everything."

All three woman burst into fits of giggles at Lindsay's enthusiasm.

They spent the rest of the evening chatting, Audrey and Lindsay recounted their stories of pregnancy and Stella asked about a million questions about pregnancy, labour, child birth, motherhood, and she's sure if they had time she could have asked a million more. But she absolutely loved talking about it.

The evening came to an end, when a rather drunk yet deliriously happy Eden and Danny fell through the front door of the apartment singing a rather interesting version of Justin Bieber's 'Baby'. Stella and Lindsay couldn't help but find them both adorable. Stella is really excited about everything, about life in general. She has to pinch herself; she can't believe how lucky she was that Eden Ashley walked into the doors of the New York crime lab all those years ago.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, OR DROP ME A TWEET EDEN_ASHLEY_CHR**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Stella Bonasera is now 4 months pregnant. She and her beautiful wife Eden had been to the latest scan earlier in the week, and both babies are doing fine, progressing as normal. Ava wasn't able to confirm the sex of the babies, but she's assured them that she will almost certainly be able to tell them the gender of their children at the next scan in four weeks time.

Right now though, Stella is currently a slave to her cravings, she's been having a fair few strange ones, including chalk, and lemon juice. But at the moment her craving is for pistachio ice cream and fresh cut mango. Problem is it's currently two thirty in the morning. She has slipped out of bed and headed for the freezer, hoping that they have the first part of her craving in stock. Out of luck, she physically deflates when the freezer proves lacking; such is the strength of her craving.

She trudges back into the bedroom dejectedly, although her disappointment turns to remorse when she sees the sleepy figure of her wife sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Sorry Shorty, did I wake you?"

Stella did wake Ashley as she was shuffling out from underneath the covers. But Ashley doesn't have the heart to scold her wife.

"Don't worry about it. Why are you awake?"

Stella looks a little guiltily, Ashley immediately knows why she's up at this ungodly hour. "More cravings?"

Stella just nods her head.

"I take it we don't have whatever it is you're after?"

"No." Stella knows where this is going. "But its okay I can wait until morning."

Ashley tiredly swings her legs out of bed and grabs some clothes out of the wardrobe, comfy clothes, grey sweat pants, an NYPD training t-shirt and a red Harvard hoody from her days back in Boston when she was training to be a CSI. Stella watches her wife without saying anything. Ashley speaks.

"You can't wait until morning, you know you'll fidget all night, and keep me awake as well as a result. I may as well just run down to Antonio's and grab whatever it is you're craving. Then we'll both get a good night's sleep."

Antonio's is a 24 hour store which Ashley has had to venture to quite a few times over the last month or so, so much so that she and the owner Antonio Dominguez have become good friends. Stella smiles at her wife, Ashley smiles back, she knows Stella feels guilty, but the truth is, Ashley is more than happy to go late night shopping, it's the least she can do, Stella is carrying her children after all.

"So, what are we craving this evening Mrs Bonasera?"

"Pistachio ice cream. . ."

"And fresh cut Mango?" Eden finishes her sentence for her; she loves how well she knows her inside out. Stella nods to confirm.

Ashley leans down and kisses her. "Right, I'll be as quick as I can."

Truth is she'll be at least 40 minutes, Antonio's isn't exactly close, but he's almost always guaranteed to have whatever it is Stella is craving, a lot of the other 24 hour places wouldn't. Ashley grabs her car keys on her way out whilst slipping on some sneakers, out of habit she grabs her badge and service weapon, before tiredly heading out of the front door.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Around twenty minutes later Ashley strolls into Antonio's, the patron and name sake of the store is sitting at the counter reading a paper, he looks up as soon as he hears the bell go on the door, and he smiles and shakes his head.

"Eden Bonasera, how many times do I need to tell you to stock pile." He chuckles; Ashley can't help but join in.

"What can I tell you Antonio, she eats the stuff I buy, she eats the stuff I buy as spare, and she finds the stuff I stash away."

"She's worth it though huh?"

"Definitely, and I guess at least I'm getting used to the sleepless nights."

The elder gentlemen of Hispanic descent chuckles again. "That you are my girl. So what will it be tonight?"

"Pistachio ice cream. And a mango if you've got one?" She poses it as a question and holds her breath while she waits for an answer, truth is if he hasn't got one, she will have to go trawling round all the other 24 hour convenience stores in the area, and it's pushing 3am already.

"I think I can help you out." He winks at her, and she just exhales with pure relief. Antonio starts rummaging around getting the things Ashley needs, when she notices something out of the corner of her eye.

"Papa." Antonio's five year old daughter Isabel, in her night gown clutching her favourite teddy.

Ashley has been to the store at more social hours, and has met Isabel or Bella as she likes to be called a couple of times before.

"Bella why aren't you in bed?" Ashley decides to talk to the young girl, as her father seems to be searching for the ice cream, he smiles and shakes his head at his little girl. Bella moves towards Ashley, who picks her up and places her on the counter in front of her.

"I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare? What about?"

"Monsters."

"Come on now sweetie, you know monsters aren't real?"

Bella nods her head to show she agrees with Ashley, the five year old obviously decides a change of subject is in order.

"What are you doing here Ashley? Is your baby hungry again?" This is how Antonio and Ashley had explained Stella's cravings to the child, she smiles at her innocence.

"That's right."

"Those babies sure do get hungry at the worst times."

"You got that right." Ashley tiredly agrees.

Before they can continue their conversation, all hell breaks loose, pandemonium. Three masked men storm into the store. It takes two seconds for Ashley to draw her weapon, it that miniscule amount of time, one of the men has grabbed Bella, and has a gun to her head, one is trashing the place and the other has a gun shoved in Antonio's face, whilst wafting a bag.

"Put the money in the bag." Antonio is paralysed with fear, he can't take his eyes away from his little girl, she looks terrified and is crying her heart out.

"NYPD, drop your weapon." Ashley knows her words are futile, so does Bella's captor, he just shoves the gun more forcefully against Bella's temple.

"I think you should drop your weapon." Ashley can hear the smugness in his voice, neither of them lowers their pistol.

Antonio has emptied the cash register into the bag, not that there is much money in there at this time of night, what are these idiots thinking. The guy with the bag is not impressed but he looks over at the situation with the kid, and has a bright idea, he moves towards them and starts to whisper to his partner in crime.

Ashley still with her gun raised looks over at Antonio; he is not in a good place.

"Look you've got what you want, so just release the girl, and get on your way." Ashley is calm and confident.

"Let's get out of here guys." The one Ashley has pinned as the leader speaks, and his two minions follow his order, the three of them head for the exit, alarmingly they don't release Bella.

"Come on guys, what's the point in taking the kid. You like babysitting do you?" Ashley hopes that this will persuade them to leave her behind. They stop and seem to contemplate her words before exiting the store at the same speed they entered, Bella in tow.

Ashley immediately springs into action; she places her gun back in its holster as she shouts instructions at Antonio.

"Call 911, tell them what's happened, and tell them Detective Eden Bonasera is in pursuit of the suspects."

Antonio is still in complete shock, but he manages to nod at Ashley whilst reaching for the phone. Ashley runs out of the store as fast as her legs will carry her, just in time to see the assailant's vehicle speeding out of the car park, she jumps in her SUV and sets off after them. She is not coming back to Antonio's without Bella in attendance.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella had fallen asleep, she tried her best not too, Eden gets really mad at her when she sends her on a midnight food run and then falls asleep before she gets back. She opens her eyes slowly and prepares herself to come face to face with a pissed off looking wife, but she's surprised to find she's in bed alone. Maybe she hadn't fallen asleep for as long as she suspected? A glance at her clock puts this idea to bed, its 7.30am.

Her next thought is that Eden must be up getting ready for work, but there's no noise coming from their en suite bathroom, she grabs her dressing gown and moves down the stairs and into the front room, the panic in her starts to rise when there's still no sign of Eden. She glances across to the kitchen, not there either. She runs over to the freezer, and pulls it open, no Pistachio ice cream. Her craving is obviously the last thing on her mind, but she knows if Eden had bought it, and then had to go out for some reason, she would have put it in the freezer. The lack of ice cream confirms to Stella that Eden hasn't been home, since she left at 2.30am this morning.

She grabs the house phone and dials Eden's cell number. She surprised when she hears it ringing, and then glances over to the cabinet where her wife always leaves her phone on charge, and sees it lighting up and vibrating away.

"The one time you leave the house without your cell." Stella is chatting to herself under her breath.

She tries the next number that comes into her head.

"Mac Taylor." Mac answers almost immediately.

"Mac its Stella, have you seen Eden?"

This confuses him no end. "Stella it's seven thirty in the morning."

"So you haven't called her in on a case?" The panic is really starting to show in her voice. Mac picks up on it straight away.

"No, Stella what's going on?"

"I had a stupid, stupid craving last night, and Eden went out to some 24 hour store to buy me some ice cream. Mac she hasn't come home." She's becoming hysterical now.

Mac tries his best to sooth her. "Hey calm down, I've just gotten into the lab, before you start really panicking let me check with the receptionist if she got called in by the night shift."

Mac pulls the phone away from his ear as he speaks to the pretty blonde receptionist.

"Carla, Hi."

"Detective Taylor. Good Morning." She smiles sweetly.

"Can you tell me, did Detective Eden Bonasera get called in to work at all in the last 12 hours?"

Carla is the night shift receptionist, she'll be coming to the end of her shift very shortly, but she has been here all night.

"No definitely not. It's been a pretty slow night. Just a convenience store robbery."

Mac makes the connection straight away. "Which convenience store?"

Carla ideally flicks through her notes. "Antonio's, in Chelsea."

Mac's heart sinks, he's heard his daughter talk about this joint before, he places the phone back to his ear. "Stella, do you know which store Eden was going to last night?"

"She always goes to Antonio's that late. He's more likely to have the stuff."

Mac sighs. "Antonio's was robbed last night."

Carla had noticed Mac's change in demeanour when she confirmed the name of the store. So she had run and grabbed the file for the case and passed it to Mac, he frantically flicks through the papers.

"Mac what do you know?" Stella's panic level has hit maximum, she can't believe all this is down to her intense need for ice cream. Damn you stupid cravings.

"Err, three guys, armed, no shots fired. Shop owner's daughter was kidnapped from the scene."

Mac stops dead. Stella knows he's holding something back. "Mac what else?"

He exhales loudly; he knows this next part is going to do nothing for Stella's calmness levels. "Eden called it in. She chased after the guys in her SUV."

"I'm on my way in." Stella starts running around to get dressed.

"I'll tell night shift we're taking over the investigation." Mac hangs up. His daughter sure does have a knack of getting herself into bad situations.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ashley had followed the van the raiders had left in all the way to East Harlem, where they had driven into a warehouse complex. Ashley slowly drove in after tem; she can see the warehouse they have entered. She parks the SUV and cuts the engine. Reaching for her mobile phone, she decides now is the time to call for back up. Damn, not the best time to be forgetting your mobile phone.

The area immediately outside the complex was just more factories and warehouses. She hadn't seen a payphone for miles. She couldn't risk going back out to find one, if they left the warehouse with Bella, they could get anywhere, looks like she's going solo on this one.

It's now approaching 6am, the morning sunshine is about to really start illuminating the Manhattan skyline. If these guys are going to make a move, they're going to do it soon. Ashley double checks her gun is fully loaded, before sighing and making her way towards the warehouse in question.

There's a porch that she assumes leads to the gaffer's office, rather than the main warehouse, which is where the van entered. She notices an open window above the porch. Jackpot. She re-holsters her gun, and starts slowly and as quietly as she can possibly manage climbing up the side of the porch an in through the open window.

Once inside she realises she's on a kind of mezzanine level that overhangs the main warehouse, she gets as close to the edge as is possible without being seen and glances down. The three men are standing around in a circle, one of them has a hold of Bella, she still looks terrified, the tears seem to have stopped now though. The main emotion of the three captors appears to be dismay.

They have removed their masks now; Ashley studies each of their faces and commits them to memory. She listens as the conversation flows below her.

"What kinda idiot has the bright idea to steal a kid?"

The guy whose idea it obviously was tries to defend himself. "I thought we could hold her to ransom or something?"

"Her pop's owns a two bit store, that he has to have open 24, 7. What the hell kinda ransom do you think we can get out of him?"

"Well if it's that bad, why did we even hit that joint in the first place."

Ashley has to stifle a grin, these guys really are idiots.

"Listen, that doesn't matter. What matters is that we now have a stinking kid. What are we gunna do with her?"

"We could just give her back?"

This obviously wasn't a good suggestion, as one of the guys clearly exasperated dives at his 'friend' and starts swinging punches. The third guy jumps in and tries to break them up.

"Give her back, you stupid son of a bitch." The guy throwing the punches is cursing under his breath. The third guy manages to separate them eventually.

Bella is now really crying again, the invader who had suggested giving her back, is the one who has a hold of the child. He starts to speak again. "Come on, you're making the girl cry."

The violent one dives for him again, the peacekeeper intervenes before he can start bashing the guy again.

"Come on Georgie calm down."

Georgie, another fact for Ashley to commit to memory. Georgie takes a deep breath; it appears he's come up with a solution.

"We're just gunna have to get rid of her."

"What do you mean by that?" The child minder doesn't like where this is going.

"What do you think I mean? We're gunna have to kill her." He's getting more and agitated as he speaks. "Pass me that gun."

When neither of the other two moves to pass him the fire arm, he erratically grabs it himself and points it at Bella.

Ashley, who had primed herself for action as soon as she heard the words get rid, has her own weapon pointed squarely at Georgie.

"I'm really sorry little girl, but this is the way it has to be." He takes the safety of the gun. That's all Ashley needed. She fires immediately, and hits him in the shoulder; he cries out in pain, drops the gun and falls to the ground instantaneously. The other two are in shock frantically trying to ascertain where the gun shot came from, while they are still disoriented, Ashley jumps from her position on the mezzanine, onto one of the still upright men, as she lands on him she smashes him in the face with her pistol, knocking him out.

The look of astonishment on the remaining thief's face is enough to make Ashley laugh out loud, if the situation wasn't so serious of course.

"I just want the girl." She says it calmly and looking him directly in the eyes. When he makes no motion at all she decides to up the ante a little.

"Don't make me shoot you for her." This appears to have had the desired effect. He lets go of Bella and shoves her a little in Ashley's direction. Bella just grabs hold of Ashley's sweat pants and squeezes her like she'd never going to let go.

"Honey I just need you to step to one side for a second." Bella does as she's told.

Ashley hasn't lowered her weapon yet, she nods towards the still shocked assailant, the one she has dubbed the 'babysitter' in her head. "You on your knees now."

She can't just let them get away. Luckily she had spotted a cardboard box full of plastic cable ties. She grabs one and secures the babysitter, he's the most dangerous of the three right now, one of the others is unconscious and the other is still writhing around in pain and whining like a little girl. Once she has bound his wrists she moves to the other two, and repeats the pattern with them, she's perhaps not as gentle as she could be with the aggressive one's shoulder injury. Oh well.

Once they are secure, she grabs Bella's hand; the child looks up at her, her face still tear stained. "Can we go home now Ashley?"

Ashley smiles. "I just need to make a phone call, and then I'll take you back to your Papa okay?"

The small child just nods, Ashley moves toward the office she had seen earlier. That was bound to have a telephone, Bella followed; she has her hand in a vice like grip. Ashley plan is to phone for backup to get the three stooges taken into custody, then head straight back to Antonio's. She hope's Stella's not too disappointed with how late her ice cream is.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella and Mac stride into Antonio's it's just after eight, Stella had gotten ready in record time. The store is still a mess, crime scene tape everywhere. The night shift had processed the scene, and done a thorough job by the looks of things, not that either of them expected anything less.

They head to the counter, a man who they assume is Antonio Dominguez is sitting behind it look like his world has just caved in. It's a feeling Stella and Mac can both relate to. Antonio looks up and sees two people walking towards him. He can tell they're cops. He's at the end of his tether, why aren't these people out there looking for his daughter.

"Mr Dominguez?" Mac breaks the silence. "I'm detective Mac Taylor."

Before Mac can continue, Antonio lets his emotions get the better of him. "I don't care who you are. You shouldn't be here; you should be out there looking for my daughter."

The tears that where threatening a second ago are spilling onto his cheeks, Stella decides to take over at this point.

"Mr Dominguez, my name is Stella Bonasera." His head immediately snaps up at her words. "My wife is missing."

"You're Stella?" She stops her line of conversation and nods, her own tears threatening. "Eden's wife?"

She nods again. Antonio's heart fills with sadness. "She followed them out of here, they turned right out of the parking lot, after that I don't know."

"Thank you." Stella smiles, but her heart sinks, they have nothing to go on.

Antonio reaches out across the table and places a hand gently on Stella's arm, causing her eyes to meet his once more. "She an incredible woman your wife."

Stella smile grateful. "I know."

"Be careful guys, I'll start getting a big head. I'll struggle to get back out through the door."

All three heads whip up at the sound of the voice, the voice they all recognise. Ashley has just come sauntering through the door of Antonio's, she has Bella in her arms now, the poor thing is still clinging onto to Ashley like her life depends on it.

"Bella! You brought my daughter back for me."

Ashley tries to take the emotion out of the situation. "Tell you what, I'll trade you her for some pistachio ice cream, and a mango?" She wiggles her eyebrows at Stella as she speaks.

"Anything you want Eden, anything. It's all yours. On the house."

As he's speaking he's getting closer and closer to Eden and Bella, once he's within reach Bella practically dives into his arms, and he in turn takes Eden in his arms, and showers her with kisses and just keeps repeating the words 'Thank you' over and over again.

Stella and Mac giggle at the scene before them. Stella is just so relieved. Ashley manages to work herself free from his embrace.

"It was my pleasure Antonio. You might wanna get this one to bed. She's had quite the late night."

Antonio nods, and takes his little girl back upstairs. Ashley turns to Stella and Mac.

"So, fancy some ice cream?"

Mac laughs; Stella puts her arms around her wife. "How do you manage to get yourself into so much trouble?"

"Excuse me wifey, I don't remember this late night shopping expedition being for my benefit."

Stella just shakes her head. "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?" Stella eyes look over every inch of her wife as she's speaking.

"I'm absolutely fine. A little tired but okay, those guys put the baddies from Home Alone to shame."

Stella kisses her wife, just completely relieved to have her back and seemingly unharmed. Mac clears his throat.

"Stella, we should get back to the Lab. Eden go and have a nap, come in later." Ashley nods grateful, she not sure she could get through a full shift on a couple of hours sleep; she's done it before mind.

Stella and Mac head for the exit. Ashley reaches into the freezer behind the counter, the pistachio ice cream that Antonio dug out for her last night had been placed in at the front, and the Mango is still out on the counter.

"Hey, I didn't go through all that trauma, so you could forget your ice cream and fruit."

Ashley has a cheeky glint in her eye as Stella turns around at her words. She walks back to her wife, and takes the items from her hand, before grabbing her for another kiss. "I love you so much."

Ashley smiles as she pulls away from the kiss. "I love you too. I'll see you later."

Stella walks back over to Mac, and they promptly leave. Ashley just shakes her head. What a day. She pulls a twenty out of her pocket, and leaves it on the counter for Antonio, before taking one last look around the store and heading for her own vehicle. This pregnancy has been eventful so far.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**MORE PREGNACY RELATED FUN NEXT TIME ROUND. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. REVIEW PLEASE. OR DROP ME A LINE ON TWITTER Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Stella is lying on the bed staring intently at the small sonogram screen, Ashley is clutching onto her hand, also engrossed by the 17 inch monitor. Ava is rubbing the transducer over Stella's bump, her five month old bump, she too is transfixed by the screen, however she is concentrating on doing her job of course, whereas the other two women are lost in wonderment.

Finally Ava has seen what she needs to for each of the infants, she has already told her two friends that the foetuses are perfectly normal, and progressing well, she knows now that has been confirmed all Stella and Eden want to know is the sex of their babies, and she's delighted that she will be able to tell them, not without having a little fun first of course.

"Right well as I said everything is progressing as normal. So I'll see you again in four weeks." She keeps the scanner in place on Stella's stomach.

She almost loses it when she sees the look of disappointment on both women's faces. Eden looks over at Stella like her world's just collapsed on itself. Ava can't do it to them.

"Unless you want to know the sex of the babies?" Both heads whip round at high speed. Ava smirks.

"You mean you can tell?" Ashley was really gutted she thought the twins were concealing themselves like they had been at the last scan. She can't believe Ava was teasing them.

"Sorry guys I couldn't resist. I take it those expressions mean you would like to know?"

Both women just nod. Ashley's mouth actually feels a little dry, she's not really sure why, but she's literally on the edge of her seat. She needs to know this information, not that she minds either way of course, boys, girls a boy and a girl, as long as they're healthy. Stella is on the verge of tears. She tightens her grip on Eden's hand, she's finally going to find out what she's having, her babies will get a little bit more personality.

Ava grins, and decides to put them out of their misery. "This one here." She points at one of the splodges on the screen. "Is your little girl."

Ashley can't take her eyes from it, her little girl, hers and Stella's little girl. Stella can't help the tear that falls from her eye, a girl, her little princess. A family, something she's never had, and here before her on this small screen a family, her family is growing.

Ava watches the emotions take over her two friends, she actually feels pretty emotional herself. She knows that more than anyone else she's ever met, Eden deserves to be happy, and right now, she the happiest she's ever seen her. She moves her hand to the second little splodge on the screen; she's delighted she gets to confirm this next bit of news to the women.

"And this here, is your son."

Ashley's smile doubles in size. A son. She can't wait, she can't wait to tell Flack and Adam, another little Knicks fan on the way, well really both will be Knicks fans, but she's not sure how Stella will feel about a little girl in a Knicks jersey! Stella is crying pretty uncontrollably now, and little boy and a little girl, a perfect family, a complete family, and with the perfect partner.

Ava removes the device; she has printed some more screenshots for her friends. She decides to go and collect them; such is the emotion in the room.

"I'll give you guys a second." Ava steps out.

Ashley's eyes are glistening with tears but she has managed to keep them at bay, she turns to face Stella, who is a complete mess, she just beams at her wife. Stella grabs at her clothing and pulls her closer, pulling her into a long lingering kiss. When she pulls back, she needs to convey to her feelings to her beautiful spouse.

"I love you so much. Thank you for giving me everything I ever wanted, making my dreams come true."

Ashley has to swallow the emotion; she really is fighting to keep the tears inside now. She can't speak she knows that really will tip her over the edge. She just nods before taking Stella's lips with her own again.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They went straight to Mac's from Ava's office to tell him the good news, then straight home, onto Skype to tell Audrey, Sienna and Zane. The rest of the CSI family can wait until tomorrow; it's been an emotional tiring day. Ashley is looking out over the city from their terrace, what an unbelievably majestic day. Now she knows that there's a little boy and a little girl being gifted into her life it's almost as if it's become more real somehow.

In 4 months her perfect marriage will become a perfect family. She thinks back to Boston, to Katy, never in a million years did she think that less than 14 years after all that happened, she would be happy. Really genuinely the happiest she's truly ever been.

Stella watches her wife looking out over New York City, she knows today has affected Eden as much as it's affected her; just her wife appears to be better at concealing her emotions. The fact that she's out here looking over this stunning city, Stella knows her wife's brain must be racing with a million thoughts. Stella has one her mind at this particular moment. She wanders out onto the terrace, and has she has done a million times before, she slips her arms around Eden, and rests her head on her shoulder, it's proving a little trickier these days what with her expanding bump.

Ashley smiles as Stella wraps her arms around her, she kisses her cheek as she positions herself, she loves the feel of Stella's bump against her back.

"You okay Shorty?" Stella starts to kiss Eden's neck as she speaks.

Ashley is brought from her thoughts. She knows where this is going; a pattern has been developing over the last week or so, a pattern that is becoming more and more frequent. Not that she's complaining of course.

Stella is delighted when Eden turns in her arms, her lips immediately seek out her wife's, Stella has no idea what's happened to her body in the last few days, whether it's a surge of hormones or what, but she needs her wife, intimately. She kisses her passionately, and pulls her inside.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Now Ashley really isn't one to complain, certainly not about sex with her exquisite wife. Buts it's becoming a little intrusive now. After making love last night, Stella had woken her this morning in rather an amorous manner, and she has actually suggested sneaking off to the showers at work already today, and its only 1pm.

Ashley managed to convince her that sex in the showers at work isn't exactly professional, Stella had relented, but she looked like a hungry wolf stalking its prey when Ashley had seen her about ten minutes ago. She has managed to sneak off to grab a bite to eat with Flack, Adam and Danny. The boys are currently stuffing their faces round at the local diner, Ashley's mind is pre-occupied. Flack can tell instantly there's something wrong with her. They're in the best pizza joint in the area, and she's currently pushing her slice around her plate. He thought she'd be more excited, he assumed she'd brought them here to deliver the news?

"Hey Ashley, so are you gunna keep us in suspense?"

Ashley looks up from her plate. She really has no idea what he's talking about. Her expression tells him as much.

"I thought you and Stella had your appointment with Ava yesterday?" Flack clarifies.

Wow, Ashley has been so pre-occupied with Stella's weird behaviour she had completely forgotten, she hasn't told her boys the good news yet. A huge grin hits her face straight away. Adam pipes in.

"I take it, that smile means you did find out the sex this time?"

"Yep." She just carries on grinning at the three men like an idiot.

"Well?" Flack is obviously getting a little impatient.

"One of each."

Now the three guys are wearing equally soppy grins. "A boy and a girl?" Adam states the obvious.

Ashley just nods to confirm. It seems as though the four of them are now lost in their own thoughts. Flack takes a bite of his pizza and vocalises one of his.

"Is that why you've been a little 'away with the fairies' today?"

The smile immediately turns into a frown. She's not entirely sure she should be discussing this with her friends, but she's really interested to get Danny's thoughts on her current situation. She takes a deep breath, and looks up at three worried faces; the guys can tell there is obviously something on her mind.

"Danny." She looks over at Danny; he just nods to make it clear he's ready to listen to whatever it is she has to say. The tension is rising a little.

"When Lindsay was pregnant with Lucy, did she get any unexpected cravings?"

The tension immediately leaves. Flack is a little relieved this is pregnancy related. The way Ashley has been acting he thought it was something really serious.

"Well yeah, she had loads. I'm sure she's spoken to Stella about it. She had a real thing for Bacon sandwiches, and the smell of gas. I can't tell you how many times. . ."

Ashley cuts him off before he can delve into some story which isn't really going to help her at all. "Danny I don't mean food cravings."

He stops his story mid flow. "How far along is Stella again?"

He has an inkling what this could be about. He feels slightly uncomfortable, but if it is what he's thinking, he knows what Ashley is going though.

"Five months." Ashley's eyes are practically boring right through him.

"Sex." Danny smirks. Flack and Adam have all of a sudden become a lot more interested in this conversation.

Ashley nods as she speaks. "So it is normal then?"

Before Danny has a chance to answer, Flack butts in. "Hold on." His tone is incredulous. "You're telling me your beautiful wife, is craving sex, and you have a face on you like your puppy just died."

"Laugh it up. I thought it was like Christmas come early at first too." She is not impressed with Flack's banter.

"Ashley's right you know, it's not as good as it sounds." Danny backs his pal up.

Adam and Flack are clearly not convinced. Ashley decides to paint them a little picture. "It sounds great in theory. But, when your wife is demanding sex at every opportunity, and I mean every opportunity."

She eyeballs the two childless men to make sure they have taken in just how serious she is. "She wants it when I wake up, she wants it when I get home from work, after dinner, before I go to sleep, she wakes me up in the middle of the night. And now today, she's even started harassing me at work, and let me tell you, my needs don't really come into it, if you know what I mean."

"Been there sister." Danny most definitely knows what she means.

"I mean I am exhausted all the time." Just in case she hasn't been emphatic enough.

"But surely it's worth it being tired all the time?" Flack clearly hasn't grasped what Ashley is trying to say, he still can't believe she's actually complaining about this.

"Yeah I mean Ash, she's carrying your twins, isn't it the least you can do?" Adam clearly isn't on the same wave length as Flack, but he hits a nerve with Ashley. She knows he's right.

"Believe me Ashley." It appears Danny has some more pearls of wisdom based on his own experiences. "This might seem like hell, but it's the good hell. Take it while you can."

He looks up to see three sets of confused eyes looking back at him. He continues to explain. "You wait until Stella hits 7 months. This 'craving' will come to an abrupt end. In fact you'll probably forget what sex is. From seven to nine months, she won't let you anywhere near her, because she'll be too pregnant, to self conscious about how big she is, and just to tired, and it will be even worse for you, because Stella is carrying twins."

Ashley swallows her throat suddenly dry. He continues.

"Then she'll have the babies. Believe me natural birth, is no picnic downstairs. You have to stay away medically for a while at least. But even when that's not a problem, you've got a kid, sorry two kids to look after. You will not get a minute to yourself, for at least the first two years of your life."

Ashley actually physically pales at this sentence, that can't be true surely? He still hasn't finished.

"Then by the time you do have a moment to yourself, it's been so long that you don't actually care anymore."

Danny takes a bite of his pizza, as he almost matter of factly ruins the next five years of Ashley's life. She has lost her appetite; she just rises from the table.

"I've gotta get back to work." She runs out of the diner at pace.

Danny looks over at Adam and Flack, who have both also been terrified to their very core by Danny's story.

"What?"

"Nice story bro." Flack shakes his head.

"Yeah way to make her feel better." Adam slaps him on the shoulder has he too leaves the table and the diner, closely followed by Flack.

Danny just shrugs, the kid needed to know the truth. No point sugar coating it for her.

Ashley made it back to the lab in record time; she headed straight for Stella's office. She has just stuck her head around the door, to find Stella sulking at her desk.

"Hey." Stella looks up as her wife speaks.

"Where did you disappear to?" Wow, she really is sulking. Luckily Ashley knows exactly how to cheer her up.

"I just grabbed a quick bite with the guys. Need to keep my strength up."

Stella doesn't appear to have picked up on Eden's playful vibe. "Why?" She's almost annoyed as she asks the question.

Ashley smirks. "Well I was wondering if you fancied a trip to the showers?" Ashley wiggles her eyebrows at Stella leaving her in no uncertain terms as to what she means.

Stella decides to not give her a chance to change her mind. She quickly jumps up from her desk, now wearing the most brilliant smile. She grabs Eden's hand and drags her out of her office, before discreetly making her way to the shower room, praying that no one is in there. It seems today, they are in luck.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Danny wasn't kidding when he said Stella would lose her sex drive. She's now 8 months pregnant, and hasn't let Ashley touch her for almost three weeks. The change was pretty instantaneous too. She went from sex at every juncture, to none whatsoever literally overnight.

Obviously she is 8 months pregnant with twins, Ashley can completely understand why, but the change and the scale of the transformation has been a little testing for the younger woman. She is like a dog on heat at the moment. Cold showers have really been a life saver. It doesn't help that Stella looks amazing, well Ashley thinks she does anyway, the woman herself thinks she looks like a beached whale. She is pretty huge now, but Ashley can't help the burst of pride she gets every time she lays eyes on her wife. The attraction she feels is immense, which obviously isn't helping in her current predicament.

Stella to be fair knows what she's doing to her wife, and she's sympathetic, but her sex drive just vanished, she has no desire at all. It doesn't help that she and Eden spend pretty much every waking hour together so she can't even really take care of her own needs as it were. To make things worse Audrey, Eden's grandmother is due to arrive in a few days. She's coming to coincide with Stella going on maternity leave. Ashley is adamant she doesn't want Stella to be alone in case anything happens, and Audrey is more than happy to come and help her grand children out, plus it means she'll be here for the birth of her great grandchildren, and that is something she doesn't want to miss.

They are currently sitting at home, after a long day at work; Eden is engrossed in watching some documentary on the TV, sipping from a bottle of beer. Stella is just studying her face. She loves this woman so much; she hates what she's doing to her at the moment. She wants her to be happy.

"You know I wouldn't mind, if you wanted to have sex with someone else." The words are out of Stella's mouth before she has a chance to think about them.

Ashley isn't actually sure she's just heard the words she thinks she's heard. She was just about to take another swig from her beer; she moves the bottle away from her lips, and looks at her wife like she's insane. She honestly can't believe she's just said that, she needs to be sure she heard her right.

"Excuse me?"

Stella can tell from the expression on her wife's face that she is not remotely impressed with what she's just said. She tries her best to explain.

"I know how hard it must be to deal with my hormones at the moment. Going from sex all the time to none, must be difficult." Sheepish is the best word to describe Stella right now.

"And you think me sleeping with someone else is going to fix that?" Ashley actually feels quite angry.

"It's just sex. No strings. I just know when I was going through my phase, if I couldn't have made love to you. . ."

"What you would have slept with someone else?"

Stella isn't really doing a great job of explaining herself. "No of course not. It would have just driven me crazy, I hate the fact that I can't give you everything you need right now."

"Well luckily I'm not pregnant, so I can do a better job of controlling my hormones. You are giving me everything I need right now." She places a hand on Stella's bump. But her wife really has annoyed her.

"Jesus Christ Stella. I don't want to sleep with anyone else." She doesn't want to cause a full blown argument, so she just gets up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Stella panics a little, remembering Eden's tendency to run away.

As much as that's what Ashley wants to do right now, she could never leave Stella by herself in her current condition. "I'm going to bed."

She trudges off in the direction of their bedroom. Stella has really messed up here; she needs to make this right. She's not really sure how.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Well last night was the first night in a while that Ashley didn't have to control herself around Stella; sex was the furthest thing from her mind. Stella giving her permission to sleep with someone else made her sick to her stomach. The tension between them was still high this morning; Stella knew her wife was still pretty angry, she decided she would leave making amends until later.

Ashley's day hadn't gotten any better. She had a case that ended up in the sewage system, which meant for the last four hours she and Adam have been sifting through excrement and God knows what else deep in the depths of Manhattan. To be frank she stinks.

She is starting to soften a little towards Stella, before heading out to scene she had to remove her wedding ring, she had thought about just leaving it in her locker, but in the end the thought of not having her rings on her made her feel ill, so onto the chain she wears around her neck they went. It was at this point she realised, she simply can't stay angry at her for very long.

Finally Ashley and Adam have just arrived back at the lab. Adam has the evidence.

"I'm just gunna drop this off at the lab."

"Cool, I'm hitting the shower; I can't start on that until I get the smell of faeces out of my hair."

Adam chuckles. "Cool meet you in there in 20?"

Ashley nods, but before she crosses the threshold into the shower room, she realises she needs to check her messages, she waiting for a crucial piece of information to come in from another crime lab, on a different case to the one she and Adam are currently working. She quickly changes direction and retraces her steps back to the entrance.

Her destination is obviously the reception desk, but something catches her eye over by the elevators.

When she realises what she's looking at the world stops. The focus of her attention has clearly seen her too. It's like then rest of the lab has just disappeared, and there are just these two people mesmerised by each other. Ashley can't believe her eyes; this can't be real can it? Surely she has gone mental? Maybe the lack of sex really is starting to affect her brain.

The other woman steps forward, she takes a deep breath as she does.

"Hello Eden."

She speaks, she sounds the same. She certainly looks like it could be her. But it can't be. Can it?

"Katy?" It's almost a whisper, but it's all she can manage. Her mouth is as dry as the Sahara. This can't be real, it must be a dream. But it's strange; she doesn't feel like she's asleep. Could it really be the case that her girlfriend, the very same one that was brutally murdered in front of her 14 years ago, is actually alive and well, and standing right in front of her?

**XXXXXXXXX**

**AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. NEEDLESS TO SAY, EXPECT SOME REAL DRAMA IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. REVIEW! OR DROP ME A TWEET Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	33. Chapter 33

**AS ALWAYS THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS. THEY REALLY DO KEEP ME GOING. **

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley can't believe her eyes. She starts to panic, there must be something really wrong with her, she must be ill. All she can't think is has she got brain tumour? It must be something like that for her to be having such vivid hallucinations.

Noticing the wave of panic on her girlfriends face. She can't bring herself to think of her as her ex-girlfriend, they never officially broke up after all; she moves forward and grabs Eden's hand.

Ashley looks at the hand now placed in her own. She can feel the hand. Surely that's not possible, if it's a hallucination she wouldn't be able to feel the hand in her own, would she? She looks back up to Katy's eyes, her brilliant green eyes, eyes she has looked into a million times before, she can see the emotion, and for that matter the tears that reside there now. She knows it's her, it really is Katy Peterson.

Ashley's brain can't comprehend what's going on. How can someone who's been dead for over 13 years be standing here in front of her.

"Eden I know this is a lot to take in."

You're not kidding. Ashley can't take it in. She needs to get away, she can't breathe. "No, no, this can't be real."

Katy tugs on Eden's hand stopping her from fleeing she needs to explain a little before she has a chance to run. She starts frantically throwing out little snippets of information at Eden, who is wearing a shocked face throughout, but with more than a hint of hurt. Katy hates that she is hurting the woman she loves right now.

"Eden please let me explain." They are almost dancing in the corridor of the lab now. "It wasn't my idea. After the attack I was drafted into the FBI, I've been undercover ever since. It was just a lot easier to be in the wind if people thought I was dead."

Ashley really can't take much more of this; tears are already streaming down her face. "Katy I can't do this right now."

Katy had expected this, so she has written a letter. She takes it from her bag and places it into Eden's hand. "Please read this. I'll be waiting."

Katy turns and walks back onto the elevator, Ashley watches her open mouthed. World upside down.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley had retreated to the showers in the immediate aftermath of what has just happened. She just let the water wash over her, she couldn't help the sobs that invaded her body. When she got out of the shower and started to get dressed, she removed her wedding ring and engagement ring from the chain on her neck. Katy hadn't seen them previously. Her eyes were so filled with love and hope, and it was all aimed at Ashley. She runs her fingers over the rings in the palm of her hand; she can't help the new waves of tears that fall at the thought of Katy's hope for them. She sighs before placing the rings back where they belong, on her left hand.

Then she looks at the envelop Katy had given her, she needs to read it. She needs to know what's going on. She grabs it and quickly makes her way to the place she goes to most when she needs to think at work. The roof.

But instead of doing what she usually does and looking out over New York City. She sits leaning against the wall, facing into the roof. Her view of the city is blocked by various out houses and pipes that can be found up there. She doesn't want to be distracted by anything right now. Bracing herself she looks at the envelop in her hands, it simply says 'Eden' on the front, it's unmistakably Katy's hand writing.

She can wait no longer for the answers she's craves, she rips open the envelop, and reads eagerly, hoping everything will become clearer.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Mac waltzes into the main lab, expecting to see his daughter, he's after an update on her current case, from what he's heard it hasn't been too pleasant. He surprised when he's greeted by Adam. Only Adam.

"Hey boss how's it going?" Adam had grabbed a quick shower himself before returning to the lab to shift through all the crap (literally) that he and Ashley had collected.

"I was about to ask you the same question. Where's Eden?"

Adam doesn't want to get his friend in trouble but he really has no idea where she is. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mac can't believe Eden would leave Adam unsupervised.

"When we got back from the scene she said she was hitting the showers and then she'd meet me back in here in 20 minutes."

"Adam how long ago was that."

Adam checks his watch, and sighs when he realises the time. "Almost two hours ago."

Mac Panics. "I'm sorry Mac, I didn't realise how much time had passed, I've been kinda engrossed." He gestures at the work laid out in front of him.

Mac nods. "Don't worry about it Adam. How did she seem when you last saw her?" He's worried, although he knows, and Eden does for that matter that Adam is more than capable, she would never leave him alone for this long without good reason. He also knows if it was case related she would have updated her partner. But seeing as Adam has no idea where she is, he can only assume it's something else. He's just seen Stella, and apart from being massively pregnant and a little fed up due to that, she was fine.

"She was fine. She was absolutely fine."

Mac nods at Adam, and paces out of the lab at speed, he knows if anything has happened her at work that has upset his daughter, there's only one place she would be. So he heads for the roof at high speed.

He burst through the door and out onto the open space of the roof, his eyes are drawn down immediately, he sees his daughter, well more acurately at the moment she looks like a shadow of her former self. He drops to his knees and gently places a hand on the shoulder of the tear stained woman; she looks like she's in a trance.

"Eden, what the hell's wrong?"

Ashley slowly moves her eyes from the letter to the source of the noise she's just heard, she immediately sees her father's face in front of her, full of concern. She has no words for him, she can't speak. She simply hands him the letter, and leans her head back against the wall and watches him as he slowly reads it.

Mac is so worried about his daughter, he hopes the piece of paper he's just been handed will offer some sort of explanation, as the young woman in front of him seems incapable of doing so.

'Dear Eden,

Love of my life. I'm guessing you've probably blown a fuse at the sight of me after all of this time. I'm well aware of your tendency to run away. So I thought I better write down what I have to say. I will probably explain it better in writing too, because I know after all this time, seeing you again will probably render me speechless or at best, I'll completely forget what I want to say to you.

First of all, before I explain the why's and how's I want you know that I am truly sorry. Above all else please know that.

So you're probably wondering what I'm doing here. I'm sure you were in attendance at my funeral all those years ago. Almost 14 years, has it really been that long?

Well let me explain. The attack was real enough; I guess you too have the scars to vouch for that. But my death was not. I survived. Just. It took months for me to get back full health. When I did there where two men sitting at the end of my bed waiting for me. I now know they were FBI agents.

You see Ellis wasn't just a nut, out on his own, doing god's work as he called it; it went much deeper than that. It was a whole religious sect, and they were hell bent, not just on destroying homosexuals. But on any group of people that didn't fit into their twisted religious beliefs. Which basically meant they wanted to destroy the whole of the USA, and most of western society.

As ridiculous as this sounds they were well equipped enough to do it. Unbelievably they funded themselves using drug money. So much for being religious hey?! They supplied most of the East Coast, and they were trading in arms too. Keeping a good supply of them for their own 'religious army.' Do you know how many wars have been started in the name of religion?

Anyway, as I said the FBI was waiting for me when I came round. They recruited me to their national security branch, and I've been undercover ever since trying to bust these guys. It's a lot easier to be undercover when people think your dead.

As to why they chose me and not you, I don't know. Either way, we would have been separated. You're probably wondering what I'm doing back?

Well we, the FBI succeeded in disbanding the army, and locking up the main players, and believe me the key has been thrown away. So I'm no longer imprisoned by the FBI.

I want you to know, that as soon as I was 'freed', I came looking for you. I want you to know the love I felt for you the last time I saw you is still burning as strong as ever in my heart.

I love you, I've missed you, and I want you back. You remember when I told you, you were the love of my life, and you said I was 'the one'. Well I hope you still feel the same?

Forever yours,

Katy xx

P.S. I know you've probably got a million questions to ask me. Meet me at Buvette on Grove Street at 8.30am tomorrow, I'll buy you breakfast. I'll be waiting.'

Mac can't believe his eyes. "Is this legit?"

Ashley doesn't move to look at her father; she continues to look straight ahead, lost in her thoughts.

"I don't know. It looked like Katy, sounded like her, and that's her handwriting."

Mac puts his arm around his daughter, his heart breaking, he can't begin to understand what she's going through, I mean this would be like Claire coming back from the dead, except worse, Eden is married, with a family on the way, the panic he feels makes him sick to his stomach.

"What has Stella said?"

This time Ashley does move to look at him, a look of pure disbelief. "I can't tell Stella. Jesus, she's 8 months pregnant, this will induce labour."

"Eden you can't not tell her."

She lets her Dad's words wash over her, she sighs as she realises he's right. "I know, I know."

Nothing is ever simple.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Mac had taken Eden for a drink, boy did she need one, but it was just one, to settle her nerves and get her thoughts together, what on earth is she going to say to her wife.

Well she's about to find out. She just walked through the front door of the home she shares with Stella. Her wife has heard the door go, she immediately jumps up from her place at the sofa, she hasn't seen Eden all day, she assumes her wife is still mad at her over the 'you can sleep with other people' thing.

Eden slowly enters the front room, and sees Stella waiting for her. She looks beautiful. Stella's thoughts are the exact opposite, Eden looks like shit, she looks unwell. Stella can tell she's been crying, she looks like she's cried a river, her eyes are sunken and red raw. Her skin is pale, and although she smiled when she first saw her wife, that quickly disappeared and was replace with a look of pure utter despair. Stella's heart leaps into her throat, what on earth has happened.

"What the hell's happened Eden. You look like you've see a ghost?"

Eden chuckles, if only Stella knew just how accurate her words are. "I think we should sit down."

Eden moves and sits on the sofa. Stella starts to do the same, but she has an awful realisation as she is sitting.

"Oh my God." It's practically a scream, it certainly takes Ashley by surprise, she hasn't spoken yet has she?

Stella clarifies what she's thinking. "You slept with someone else didn't you?" Stella actually starts to cry as she speaks, as much as she thought she was okay with the idea, she really isn't.

Ashley had honestly forgotten about their previous argument, and the subsequent anger she felt toward her wife. She reaches over and takes her wife's hand.

"I didn't." She puts her mind at rest immediately. "I told you I didn't want to do that."

"I know but you just look so miserable. Is this down to our argument earlier?" Stella is still crying, she's been unable to reign in her emotions since the start of this pregnancy, damn these hormones.

"Stella, darling. This has got nothing to do with that at all."

"What is it then?" Stella is really confused.

"I don't really know how to say this. I can't quite believe that I'm going to say it."

"This is me, you can tell me anything." Stella encourages her wife.

"Apparently, Katy wasn't murdered." Ashley still can't believe the emotional effect that has on her; she struggles to keep the tears at bay.

"What?" Stella's initial thought is that Eden has been drinking. It is fairly late, and she hasn't seen her all day. She almost involuntary starts to smell the air around her wife for any whiff of alcohol. It's not so subtle, Eden is not impressed.

"I'm not drunk Stella. But thanks for the vote of confidence." She knows earlier in their relationship, Stella had been worried that Eden liked to try and find the answers to her problems in the bottom of a bottle.

"Look read this." She pulls out the letter from her back pocket, and watches intently as her wife reads it.

Stella goes through a myriad of emotions, she can't believe it. She certainly understands the state Eden came home in. She gets to the last few lines, and she can't help but worry, like the letter says, this woman was the love of Eden's life, what if Eden wants to go back to her. She can't help her next question; it comes out as a panicked mess.

"Do you love her?"

Ashley immediately hears the terror in Stella's voice, and she wants to reassure her. But she's not willing to lie to her.

"You know I do. I never stopped."

Stella did know this; she can't help the fresh tears that fall. She glances over Eden's shoulder and catches sight of a picture that has taken pride of place in their home for as long as Stella can remember, a photo of Eden and Katy, looking happy. Stella didn't mind it when she thought the other woman was dead, but now knowing that she's alive and well, and more than that she's obviously trying to steal her wife from her, looking at it makes her nauseous.

Eden carries on. "But Stella, I'm not in love with her. I'm in love with you."

Stella can't let go of her fears. "Is that just because she hasn't been around?" She looks her directly in the eyes, and if Stella didn't look so scared, Ashley might have laughed at how ridiculous the question was.

Instead she decides to be deadly serious. "Do you remember what I said to you when we got married?" She doesn't give Stella a chance to answer.

"I told you that I was glad she was dead. Because if she wasn't I might not have met you. Do you think I would say something like that lightly?"

"No."

"You are the love of my life." She makes sure she's looking Stella directly in the eyes, her wife sees the passion burning in the younger woman's eyes and she calms slightly, knowing that Eden at least has no immediate plans to leave her for her resurrected ex-girlfriend.

"What did she say when you told her about me?"

Ashley's expression changes immediately. "Stella, I could barely speak when I saw her, I don't think I actually said more than about two words to her. It's kind of a blur. I thought I was cracking up."

Stella chuckles and snuggles further into her wife. Ashley kisses the top of her head. "I'm gunna tell her everything tomorrow at breakfast."

She feels Stella tense immediately beneath her. "If you're okay with me going to meet her that is?"

Stella thinks about it for a second, she's never been jealous when it comes to Eden, she knows her wife loves her, and doesn't want anybody else, well at least she used to. But she guesses the sooner Katy finds out about her the better.

"Of course. Will you be okay?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Its 8.30am on the dot. Ashley hates being late for anything, although she's not exactly looking forward to this breakfast she find herself entering the restaurant right on time. It's busy, always a good sign she supposes. This place is in the west village, not too far from home, which makes her wonder if Katy knows where she lives, just how much has she been stalking her?

She spots the woman in question, who seems to meet her gaze almost immediately. The most brilliant smile appears on her face. Ashley can't help but reciprocate. She makes her way over to the table and sits down opposite the beautiful green eyed, red haired woman.

"Hey." Katy is practically gushing with happiness. "I take it you read the letter then?"

"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't"

Katy smiles again. "I've missed you so much Eden."

"I've missed you too." She really has. But that doesn't stop her from feeling slightly uncomfortable as she says it.

"I ordered for you." Ashley looks surprised. "I remember when we were together you used to absolutely love Eggs Benedict, I took the liberty."

Ashley smiles at the memory. "We always did say we'd have eggs Benedict overlooking central park one day."

"Well we're not quite by the park, but I hear the eggs here are fantastic."

Eden again looks around, comforted once more by the amount of people in here; she guesses the eggs probably are fantastic. Katy watches her looking around, she hasn't changed that much at all, and she's as beautiful as she ever was. She's looking a bit tired, understandable she guesses, she didn't get much sleep herself last night.

"I'm so proud of you Eden; you always said you'd end up in New York."

Ashley pulls her eyes back towards her ex-lover. "It's a pretty special place."

"How long have you been here?" Maybe Katy hasn't been stalking her as much as she previously thought.

"Four Years."

Ashley knows she needs to bring up Stella, and the impending birth of her children, as she struggles to find the words, that she knows will crush the woman before her, it seems Katy can't wait any longer, she needs to know where she's stands.

"Have you met anyone else?" Ashley doesn't speak, she can't. Katy can instantly tell from Eden's reaction that the answer to that question is most definitely 'yes'.

"I guess it was pretty naive of me, to think you'd stay single for close to 14 years." Katy feels like she's been punched in the stomach.

Ashley smiles. "Not that naïve. It took me ten years to really ever look at anyone like that again."

"Damn so I'm really only four years late." They both laugh but it's tinged with sadness. Katy can't help the next words that fall out of her mouth.

"Eden I want you back." She looks over at Eden hopefully. "I don't know how serious this relationship is, but I can't imagine loving anyone, the way I loved you, and I'm willing to fight for that."

That really is the last thing Ashley wanted to hear. She supposes it was too much to ask for Katy to say she was happy for her and watch her on her way.

"So is it? Serious I mean." Ashley is once again pulled from her thoughts by the sound of her exes' voice. She decides to show her how serious it is. She lifts her left hand, which so far she has been hiding under the table, to reveal her wedding ring and engagement ring.

"Oh." Katy can feel the tears starting to spill over onto her cheeks. Ashley's heart breaks at the sight before her. "You're married?"

She nods to confirm. "Well what's she like?" She barely gets the sentence out through tears.

Ashley reaches across and grabs her hand, her own tears falling as fast as the red heads. Never in a million years did she ever think she would be the cause of Katy's tears.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly, you've got nothing to apologise for." She squeezes Ashley's hand. She decides to try and lighten the mood a little. "So I guess the answer is really serious." She laughs a little, but Ashley isn't buying it, the tears are still falling thick and fast.

As much as she doesn't want to compound Katy's pain she knows she needs to complete this story, so she knows just how serious it is. "Yeah. Katy, Stella is eight months pregnant with twins."

This hits Katy again, right in the chest; her heart feels like it's exploded, she can't feel anymore. "Stella is that her name?"

"Yeah we work together."

Katy, just nods, again trying to smile, but failing miserably. She dissolves into tears. As does Ashley, she hates that she's just pulled the bottom out of Katy's world. She hates that the woman is this upset, and that she's the cause. Just as she's about to move around the table and pull her into an almighty hug, the waiter places their eggs down on the table, before practically running away. The sight of a crying woman obviously not for him. Ashley just looks down at the plate. Eating the last thing on her mind. What a mess.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After a very awkward breakfast, Eden had returned to work and filled Stella in on possibly the worst experience of her life, before heading out to her scene with Mac. Stella is due to go off on maternity leave in a few days, and hasn't been allowed out on a scene in weeks, so she's kept herself busy with lab work and paper work. She's working with Adam at the moment in one of the labs. He's still not sure what happened with Ashley yesterday, and he's really not sure he wants to risk asking Stella, he's well aware of what her hormone riddled moods can be like.

Katy had gone to take care of some business immediately after breakfast, but she now finds herself inexplicably back at the New York crime lab, the place she had first visited yesterday hoping to win back the love of her life. But it's not Eden Ashley she's looking for today. Right now she's looking for the woman she knows only as Stella. She guesses it shouldn't be too hard to spot her; she is heavily pregnant with twins.

Just has she has this thought, she sees her, it must be her. Laughing and joking with man who also looks around their age. Katy can see why Eden was drawn to her, she's beautiful. Pregnancy seems to suit her, the fact that those are Eden's babies makes her heart lurch, she almost automatically lets herself into the lab. Both Stella and Adam are taken aback.

"Can I help you?" Stella falters at the end of her question. She recognises this woman. "Katy?"

The younger woman nods. "You must be Stella." She holds out her hand, which Stella looks at before realising she should probably shake it. Adam has also recognised the woman; Katy Peterson has been a big part of all of their lives. He has no idea of the developments over the last 24 hours.

"But, but, you're dead."

Katy almost laughs at his confusion. "I was, but now I'm back." Before Adam has a chance to question her further. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to have a word with my girlfriend's wife."

Adam looks at Stella. "Will you be okay?" She nods, and Adam exits the room, but stays nearby, Katy obviously means business referring to herself as Ashley's girlfriend.

"So Eden told you about me then." Katy eyes Stella as she speaks.

"Of course. You were a huge part of her life."

"Were." Katy's voice is tinged with sadness.

"Katy she thought you were dead."

"I know, and I'll hate myself for that until the end of time." She decides to say what she's come here to say. "I still love her Stella. And not in a 'we had a great time back then; I'll always love her' kind of way. I'm still in love with her. Seeing her again has cemented that for me."

Stella clenches her jaw a little not really liking the way this conversation is going. "As long as you know that the love Eden has for you, is the 'we had a great time back then, I'll always love her' kind."

"We'll see."

"Excuse me." Stella anger flares at this point.

Katy knows she's being highly unreasonable but when has love ever been fair. If love was fair Eden wouldn't be married with a family on the way. Katy just can't fathom that Eden could love anyone as much as she loved her, as much as they loved each other, and she knows given the chance Eden will realise that she is still in love with her too. So she intends to give her that chance.

"The work I did with the FBI means I'm fairly well known now in Police circles. The success of the operation means him highly sought after."

Stella listens intently not quite sure where this is going. "What that means is I have my pick of precincts. I've just confirmed that I'm joining New York's finest. Organized Crime Control Bureau."

Stella swallows. She knows where this is going now and she is not happy about it. Katy continues.

"What I'm trying to say Stella, is I'm not willing to give up on Eden. To give up on me and Eden. Regardless of the circumstances." She lets her vision linger over Stella's bump. "I'm sticking around, to give her the chance to remember, to give her the chance to realise that she is still in love with me."

Katy having said her piece moves to leave the lab. She turns back as she reaches the door. "For what it's worth Stella, I'm sorry that you have to get caught up in all of this. But I can't not take the chance. I love her."

Stella nods; she knows she would be exactly the same if these women's roles were reversed. "You do what you think you have to."

Katy nods, and leaves Stella alone in the room. Her main thought at the moment is that she really hopes Eden loves her as much as she thinks she does.

**XXXXXXXX**

**So let me know what you think. Review please.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Stella had gotten home about an hour ago, from what had been her last shift before maternity leave. Her confrontation with Katy was just before she left work. Audrey is due to arrive from Chicago tomorrow. This is all such a huge mess, and a mess she could do without right now. She rubs the palm of her hand over her burgeoning bump, and sighs.

Ashley waltzes through the front door of her apartment. What a day. She feels exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally. She can't wait to hold Stella in her arms; she knows that will make everything better, even if it is only temporarily. She strides straight into the front room, excited to tell Stella that everything has been cleared up with Katy, and everyone knows where they stand. Her excitement quickly evaporates when she sees the look on her wife's face.

"What's wrong?" Her voice is full of concern, as she joins Stella on the couch.

Stella doesn't know where to start. Ashley's worried she thinks she hasn't done the deed, so she quickly moves to reassure her. "I've told Katy in no uncertain terms that it's you I love. That it's you I want to be with."

"Really?" Stella's tone is harsher than she intended, but she can't help it, she's so incredibly angry. She sees the hurt flash across Eden's face, but she can't stop herself.

"In no uncertain terms hey?" Ashley nods her head, confused as to exactly what she's done wrong.

"Tell me then Eden, why did I get a visit from your girlfriend this afternoon, telling me that she's taken a job in New York, and she sticking around to win you back. And even better than that, she doesn't give a damn that she's going to destroy our family in the process."

Stella really loses it, she's sobbing. "She wants to destroy my family." She barely gets this out through the tears.

Ashley wastes no time in throwing her arms around the hormonal woman, and holding her until she calms down and the tears subside. Ashley is really confused; she can't believe Katy's behaviour. Now the anger that had been evident in Stella has transferred to Ashley. She is seething. All she wants to do is find Katy and put her firmly in her place, she can't believe she would upset a pregnant woman so much, Ashley feels her own tears starting to form.

She kisses Stella on the top of her head, her tears have stopped now, and they've both just been sitting here lost in their own thoughts. Ashley needs Stella to know that she's got nothing to worry about, although she knows that won't be easy given Stella's current hormonal state. She just starts to speak.

"Do you remember the first day we ever met?"

Stella is startled at first that her wife has spoken, but then smiles at her words, and the memories they invoke. "Yeah."She answers the question simply.

"I think I fell in love with you that day."

Stella is shocked at Eden's words, mainly because she remembers well how that first meeting went. Ashley giggles at the expression on her wife's face.

"Yes, Stella Bonasera, even though you we're a complete bitch, I really do believe I fell in love with you that day." She sighs. "Which is weird, because I didn't know I believed in love at first sight."

Stella now completely intrigued as to where Eden is going with this, has sat up to face her wife no longer snuggled into the crook of her neck. She can tell Eden is lost in thoughts obviously reminiscing. Out loud apparently.

"What about our first kiss?"

Stella cringes as she remembers the almighty slap she gave her. Before Stella has a chance to swallow her embarrassment Eden continues. "That was the day I realised I couldn't live without you. Because I thought after what happened, there was no chance for you and me. I just felt empty."

"I was terrified." Stella has been reeled in by Eden's story and is caught in an almost trance like state in her own memories of the time. She starts to clarify what she means. "Nobody had ever kissed me like that. Had ever made me feel so excited and so absolutely terrified at the same time. I knew nobody would ever kiss me like that again, that part took me a couple of weeks to realise. . . "

"And then we had our first real kiss."

Stella smiles again. "If I remember rightly, it was more than just a kiss that night."

"It was just so perfect. Until the next morning."

"When you thought I'd skipped out on you?"

"Then it was my turn to be terrified."

"You had nothing to be scared about."

"I know. Just like you have nothing to be scared about now."

Stella frowns, Ashley continues. "Katy was my first love. I can't do anything to change that. But we were kids, our relationship was fantastic don't get me wrong, but it was fantastic for the 20 year old kids that we were. It can't hold a candle to the foundations that we've built over these last almost what, four years?"

Stella nods. Feeling a lot more reassured. Ashley looks her directly in the eyes. "Obviously she wasn't listening when I spoke to her earlier, but I will make sure she hears me next time."

Stella nods, feeling silly that she ever doubted this wonderful woman. She snuggles back into the crook of Eden's neck. Ashley kisses her again on the head. "But not tonight. Tonight I want to spend the evening with my beautiful pregnant wife."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ashley strides into PD, she's still fuming from Stella's revelations last night about Katy's behaviour, and she's not wasting any time putting the Redhead straight.

"Hey Ashley, what brings you out of the lab down here?" Flack.

"Hey Don." They do their customary handshake. "I'm looking for detective Peterson. Have you seen her?"

He nods towards the woman in question. Slightly worried that his best friend is seeking her out. "Thanks Flack."

She doesn't wait for a response from her pal; she just strides over to Katy. Katy can't help the smile that spreads on her face when she sees Eden coming towards her.

"Hey you."

"Hey. Do you wanna grab a coffee?" She decides to ignore her over familiar greeting.

"Sure." Katy grabs her jacket and they head outside to the vendor on the street and order two lattes.

Katy can't take her eyes off Eden. She still loves this woman dearly, she looks tense, like maybe she didn't get much sleep last night. Katy had caught some interesting gossip around the lab last time she had been up there, about Eden and Stella's sex life, or lack of one. She had overheard Stella chatting to one of her colleagues, Lindsay maybe. She reaches out and Places a hand on Eden's arm.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Ashley flinches at the contact and pulls her arm out of Katy's reach. "I'm fine."

Katy has more to say apparently. "It's just that I heard you're having a difficult time in your marriage at the moment."

Ashley can't believe her ears. The anger is really threatening to take off now. "The only issues I'm having in my marriage at the moment are being caused by you."

Katy ignores the fact that Eden's voice is tinged with anger. "Really, because I heard you're having bedroom issues. And you know we never had an issue in that department."

She wiggles her eyebrows, and puts her arm around her former lover. Ashley is possibly the most unimpressed she's been since Katy resurrected from the dead. She quickly grabs her hand and removes it from her shoulder.

"My wife is almost nine months pregnant with twins. I would've thought the reason we aren't having sex right now is obvious. . ." this is firmly through gritted teeth.

Katy clearly hasn't noticed, or just decides to ignore Eden's obvious anger. "Well if you're ever feeling a little frustrated."

Ashley laughs, is this really happening. "What I can just jump into bed with you?"

Ashley sighs. "I thought when I told you yesterday, that I was married with twins on the way, you'd realise what that meant. I thought you were a good person Katy?"

"I am Eden." She starts to panic. "I just don't believe you could love anyone as much as you love me."

Ashley looks her dead in the eyes; the emotion she sees there almost kills her. "I'm only gunna say this once, because I know how much it must hurt for you to hear it. Stella is the love of my life. That statement would be true whether you died or not."

Katy starts to cry, Ashley manages to hold it together. "Katy I know you've taken a job here in New York, and I would love nothing more than for you to be part of my life, but you've got to realise that can only be as friends. And you have got to stop behaving like this."

Katy nods, she can't speak through tears. "I've gotta get back to the lab."

Ashley quickly turns and heads back towards the building. The tears that had been threatening, are now spilling over, she hates that she's hurting Katy so much, but she absolutely can't let her ex girlfriend keep hurting her wife the way she is.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

With Stella now on maternity leave probably for at least the next six months, Ashley has been made temporary second in command. She was kinda worried about how Danny would react, obviously he's been at the New York crime lab a lot longer than she has, and with Mac being her Dad and Stella her wife, she's more than aware of how it could have been construed. But Danny was fine with it, more than fine, although they were both equally qualified to step in, Ashley's record is exemplary, and her academic pursuits mean Danny was more than happy to concede the position to her, and congratulate her as more than worthy for the role.

Anyway the outcome of all of that is Stella's office is now her office. This is where she's currently sitting. Heart aching, staring at the screen on her computer, desperately trying to stop the tears that are threatening to fall. She knows she needs to be strong for Stella, for her babies, but the truth is she feels on the brink of disaster, she hates herself for this thought, but things would have been so much easier if Katy had just stayed dead. Unbelievable, she's spent the last 14 years wishing she was still alive, and now. Well this new Katy isn't the Katy she knew. She prays the woman she remembers comes back, so she can be part of her life.

She is surprised when the door to her office swings open, but also glad of the distraction, she wonders who would just stride in without knocking. Mac? Adam? She looks up and sees her Grandmother Audrey Harbridge, looking like an angel sent to save her; it's too much for Ashley all the emotion she's been holding in since Katy returned breaks through a barrier at the sight of her grandmother. She just breaks down and starts to sob. Audrey rushes round to the other side of the desk and takes her granddaughter, her little girl into her arms.

They stay like this for what seems like an age, Ashley's certain the only reason she's actually stopped crying is because she's run out of tears. Satisfied that the floods have stopped at least for now, Audrey makes herself comfortable in the chair at the other side of the desk. It's been a long time since she and her beloved granddaughter had a heart to heart. That is about to change.

"I take it Stella's filled you in."

Stella had picked Audrey up from the airport; the drive back to their apartment had been an interesting one, so much so that when they dropped Audrey's bags off, she headed straight for the lab.

"I'm gobsmacked Eden. I can't believe she's alive."

"Join the club," Ashley sighs. "This is so messed up."

"I understand Katy hasn't reacted to well to your domestic situation." Audrey smiles.

"Understatement." Ashley rubs her temple, she feels like she's had a permanent headache these last few days. "She's not the same girl."

"Of course she isn't." Audrey can't believe Eden would be so naive.

Ashley is confused, Audrey explains herself. "You've had 14 years to grieve, to get over her. She's had 14 years living in hope, hoping that you would wait for her."

"That's ridiculous; I didn't know I had anything to wait for." She cant mask the annoyance from her voice.

"I know that. But if the tables had been turned, are you saying you wouldn't have had that same hope?" Audrey is trying her best to make her see sense.

"I guess. But I couldn't have expected her to put her life on hold for 14 years, especially if she thought I was dead."

"Eden I'm not saying she's being rational or reasonable, but do you remember what you where like when she first passed away?"

Ashley is confused again. Audrey takes pity on her once more. "She's basically where you were 14 years ago. She's at day zero, she's lost you and she needs to get over that. If we're lucky it won't take her the ten years it took you."

Ashley is starting to get where her gran is coming from. "Let's hope not. I'm not sure Stella can cope with her much longer. It's one thing to be grieving but I was never mean with it, I never hurt anyone."

Before Ashley gets a chance to continue, she's brought to a halt by her Grandmothers raucous laughter.

"Eden Alexa Ashley Bonasera. I love you to pieces. But you sure have got a short memory." Audrey struggles to get her laughter under control due to the look on Eden's face right now, but she manages, just about and clarifies her latest sentence.

"Alexandra Santiago." Ashley knows exactly where her grandmother is going and she can't help but cringe. "I think she can testify to just what kind of person you were in the immediate aftermath of Katy's death."

"Point taken." Ashley can't argue, she knows she treated Alex badly, she hates she was ever like that, but it certainly makes a penny drop, then she has the horrible realisation. "I didn't really sort myself out until I met Stella. She's taken a job in New York, is this going to go on forever?"

Ashley can't help the new tears that start to form. Audrey reaches across the table, and strokes her hand. "She just needs time Eden."

Ashley nods. She knows her grandmother is right; she's just not sure how long she and Stella can survive with Katy in her current mood.

**XXXXXXXX**

"Well well well. It appears miracles do happen."

Katy is startled, but she instantly recognises the voice. Audrey Harbridge, her ex lovers grandmother, she had been like a second mother to her all those years ago.

"Audrey." Katy jumps from her chair and throws her arms around the old lady. Tears in her eyes are matched by those shining in the eyes of the woman she hasn't seen for 14 years.

"I thought we could take a walk?" Audrey struggles to keep her composure. It really is true, she really is alive. Audrey cares deeply for this young woman. It had broken her heart all those years ago when she had passed away.

"I'd like that." Katy quickly wipes away the tears that have spilled over, and follows Audrey out of the front door of the Police department, and they head towards the park in a comfortable silence. A million thoughts and questions running through each of their minds.

When they reach the park they make themselves comfortable on a bench, Audrey reaches over and grabs Katy's hand, and just holds it in her own. Katy loves this woman like her own grandmother; this small gesture makes her heart swell and the tears fall again.

"You must have been through hell." Audrey's words take Katy by surprise, she was expecting a lecture from Audrey, but it seems she's the only person so far who has tried to imagine what it must have been like on her side.

"I know I'm acting crazy right now Audge. But I can't help it. It's like I'm watching myself do all these awful things and I can't stop. My brain is spinning all the time."

Audrey smiles at the use of her pet name, Katy always used to call her back in the day. "You need time Katy. You can't keep doing what you're doing."

"I know."

"Maybe you should go home for a little while, get your head together. Get used to the reality of life as it is now."

"Eden and Stella you mean." Audrey nods, now she knows why her granddaughter is having such a terrible time with this, you can practically see Katy's heart breaking as she speaks, pain is etched all over her face. Audrey nods, and squeezes the younger woman's hand.

"You're really the only person who saw me and Eden together and her and Eden together. She says Stella is the love of her life."

She looks up at Audrey face full of hope, tears streaming down her face. Audrey can't help the sorrow that consumes her. But she can't lie to the young woman.

"She is." Katy closes her eyes. She feels like she's been stabbed right through the heart. She leans back against the bench.

"Then I'll let go."

It's all see can manage before the sobs take over her body. Audrey pulls her in and tries her best to comfort her, all the while trying to keep her own tears under control.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has thrown herself into work for the rest of the day. She's currently at a crime scene, a Homicide, the body has just been taken by the coroner, and she's busy processing the scene. It's really helped take her mind off all other aspects of her life.

Mac has just joined her at the scene. He's worried about her. "How's it going?"

Ashley is still in complete work mode. "Yeah pretty good, looks like a 9 millimetre. Through and through. I'm just looking for the bullet; the casings are over there so . . ."

As she gestures towards the casings she takes in the look on Mac's face. "Oh, you mean how am I?"

He smiles and nods. "I feel like I'm trapped in a dream, and I'm praying I wake up soon. This. . ." She gestures out across the crime scene. "Is the only thing keeping me sane right now."

"No wonder you're so engrossed. Things still no better with Katy then?" He's really worried.

"I don't know. We had another talk this morning, so fingers crossed."

"Everything's gunna be alright kiddo." He's also adamant that no matter what they will get through this. As a family.

"I really hope you're right pops."

They are interrupted by the sound of Ashley's cell phone singing out. She pulls it out of her pocket, and sees Stella's name on the caller ID. She silently prays that Katy hasn't had any more little talks with her wife.

"Hello." She braces herself for the worst; but is shocked when it's her grandmother's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Eden, it's me. Get to the hospital as soon as you can. Stella's waters have broken."

**XXXXXXXXX**

**So as you've probably guessed the babies will be getting their debut in the next chapter. As always. Drop me a Review.**


	35. Chapter 35

**As always. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it's been a little while since the last update. I've become slightly obsessed with Rookie Blue. Anyway, let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley ran from the crime scene, Mac had to stay and wait for someone to take over, but promised to follow his daughter as soon as was humanly possible. Ashley put her foot down, and reached the hospital in record time, she left the SUV parked up at the entrance of the building, getting a ticket really is the last thing on her mind. She sprints to the maternity ward feeling the most heinous mix of nervousness and excitement in her chest, stomach, heart, everywhere really. She reaches the desk; the nurse seems startled by her eagerness.

"Stella Bonasera." It's really all Ashley can manage to bark at the nurse.

The nurse smiles. "Room 23, down the hall."

The older woman gestures with her head, Ashley follows the direction of the nurses shrugs with her eyes before slowly looking back to her, the gentle older lady is now looking at her like she's a mental patient. Ashley smiles.

"Thank you." Before heading into the aforementioned direction a top speed.

She's almost knocked over when she reaches the room by Ava stepping out. Ava takes one look at her friend and knows she needs to calm down; she's going to be no help to Stella in her current state.

"Hey where's the fire?"

Ashley looks at her like she's stupid. "Well in there I would think." She gestures towards the room Ava has just vacated.

Ava places a hand on either side of Eden's shoulders and looks her dead in the eyes. "Hey. Take a breath, and chill yourself out. Stella is about to give birth to two babies, she's the only one entitled to panic, you need to be strong for her. Okay?"

Ava's little speech seems to bring Ashley out of her mass panic. She nods her head. "Okay."

"Right, get this on." She passes Eden a medical gown. "And get in there and support your beautiful wife."

Ashley quickly gets the gown on, Audrey who had heard the commotion, steps out of the room, ready to relinquish duties to her granddaughter. She kisses her on the cheek.

"Good luck little one."

"Thanks." Ashley smiles and steps past her grandmother into the room. Stella looks scared, terrified, she has tears streaming down her face, which seem to triple in volume at the sight of her wife. Ashley is by her side instantly and grabs her hand, the sight of Stella's tears cause a few of her own, which she tries but fails to stop from falling. So much for being the strong one.

"Hey you." Ashley places a kiss on her wife's head as she speaks.

"Eden I'm scared." Stella is genuinely terrified, she has been so excited about actually having the babies, she's kinda blocked out the giving birth part, two babies, two. This is going to hurt surely? The contractions had just started and they were excruciating already, not a good start.

"Hey, I'm right here okay, me and you are gunna get through this together. Alright?"

"Okay." Stella still has tears streaming down her face, but she really does feel a whole lot better with Eden by her side.

Her grip on Eden's hand suddenly starts to tighten, into what Ashley would describe as a death grip. Ava chooses this moment to wander back into room. She can instantly tell Stella is midway through a contraction. Eden seems to be getting the brunt of it; her friend is becoming increasingly worried about her hand. Ava stifles a small chuckle; this could be a long night.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ava wasn't wrong about it being a long night; it's now six hours later and still no sign of any babies. Ashley's heart is breaking seeing her wife in so much pain, she wishes there was more she could do, but she has to console herself with being the main gas and air dispenser and hand holder, she has had to swap hands more than a few times, and she's almost certain she's picked up some sort of crush injury.

Mac had made it to the hospital, he joined Audrey in the waiting room about four hours ago, since then Flack, Adam, Hawkes, Danny and Lindsay, who have left Lucy with Danny's parents for the evening, have joined them. None of them wants to miss this.

Stella is doing so well. Eden looks like she's ready for an emotional breakdown; Ava decides to give them some good news. She pops her head up from between Stella's legs.

"Guys I can see the head of the first baby. Stella when you feel like pushing just go with it okay."

Ashley swallows, and reinstates her firm grip into Stella's hand, and prepares herself for the world of pain that's coming her way, then she thinks about the pain that Stella is about to go through, what she has been going through for the last six hours, and she decides a broken hand doesn't seem so bad after all. Ashley rests her head against Stella's.

"I love you so much. We just need to get through this last part, and then we'll have our babies."

Stella who still hasn't managed to stem to flow of tears, nods and smiles at her wife. She is definitely never doing this again, if they decide to have any more children, Eden is giving birth to them, non-negotiable.

"Okay guys, once the first baby is out, the second baby will follow pretty quickly. Now don't panic if I whisk them away, like I've explained they're a couple of weeks early and they will probably be a little small okay."

Ava finishes her last minute pep talk, Stella and Eden both just nod open mouthed. Stella can feel another wave of pain, Ashley instantly knows what's happened as the vice like pressure on her hand increases further still.

"Okay Stella, that's good, one last big push." Ava encourages, Ashley is also doing her best to help Stella through this by keeping her focused on her breathing and telling how well she's doing.

Ava grabs the forceps, the first babies head is out, she uses the equipment to pull the infant all the way out, and smiles as she gives the baby a quick once over before passing it to a waiting obstetrician to give it a more thorough checking. She glances up to the two women, both now in floods of tears.

"Congratulations guys. That was your little girl."

"Is she okay?" Ashley barely gets the words out through her tears; she has never been as scared in her life.

"She looks perfect, let the guys check her out, and in the meantime we can concentrate on getting her little brother out okay?"

Ava's words have calmed both women down immensely. Perfect, their little girl is perfect. With a renewed vigour Ashley grabs Stella's hand again, ready for anything.

**XXXXXXXX**

It's now 45 minutes later, both babies are born, both perfectly healthy. Stella is exhausted, but she can't bring herself to close her eyes, she's just completely mesmerised by these two small beings. Her children, she has children, two of them for that matter, it blows her mind.

Stella has been moved to a private room, that's where she and Eden are now, she's in the bed obviously, holding her little girl; Eden is laying next to her on the bed, on top of the covers holding her little boy, she too has been completely taken by these two bundles of joy, and also has been unable to take her eyes off of them.

Ava has been and informed the entourage in the waiting room the good news, and sent them in the direction of Stella's room, Audrey slowly opens the door, and tentatively enters the room closely followed by Mac, and the rest of the gang, they hang back around the end of the bed, thinking perhaps that this should be more of a family moment to begin with. Audrey catches her granddaughter's eyes, and Eden can't help the huge smile that hits her face.

She gestures for the old woman to come closer, and encourages Mac to do the same, as soon as Audrey sees the two babies; she can't stop the emotion, or the tears. Mac too feels a little weepy at the sight of his grandchildren.

"Do you want to hold?" Ashley directs her question at the two of them; there are two babies to go around after all.

They both answer with a nod. Ashley smiles. She jumps off the bed and moves towards Mac first of all.

"Okay grandpa." The lump in Mac's throat doubles in size at his daughter's words, Ashley continues to speak as she manoeuvres her son into her father's arms.

"I'd like you to meet, Theo McKenna Bonasera."

That's knocked Mac for six; they have given their son his name. He can't hold the tears in any longer but manages one word through them. "Really?"

Ashley just nods. She and Stella had decided names a while ago but kept them secret, Ashley was conscious about the fact that they are a new rather unconventional family, but she wanted Mac to know in no uncertain terms that he is huge part of it. They decided on Theo to reflect Stella's Greek heritage, and Ashley absolutely loves the name.

Ashley turns back towards Stella and takes the girl baby, she moves towards Audrey. "Great Grandma, or Nana if you prefer?"

Audrey can't speak, she shakes her head to try to convey that she really doesn't care what she gets called, she's just so unbelievably happy. Again Ashley speaks as she passes the small child into her Grandmothers arms.

"I'd like you to meet, Elissa Amelia Bonasera."

Audrey tears increase dramatically, she knows it took a lot for her granddaughter to forgive her daughter for what she did, but this tribute by Eden and Stella is almost too much for the older woman to take. Her daughters memory will live on, she thanks god that Eden can be such a big person, such an amazing woman.

The rest of the team, lead by Lindsay can't wait any longer they throw themselves into the baby mix, and they all spend the next hour, gushing and cooing over the twins.

Ava comes into the room to break up the party.

"Alright guys, it's like ten thirty, I've extended the visiting times enough, you're all gunna have to go home."

She's meet by lots of small groans, but it's all good natured. "The good news is, Stella and the babies will be fine to go home tomorrow."

She smiles as she delivers this information, Eden and Stella just look at each other exhausted but happy, hospitals have never been either of their favourite places. There's kisses and hugs all around as everyone leaves. Ashley places the babies into their bed, and takes her position back next to Stella. She leans her head against her wife's shoulder. Stella takes her hand.

"Wow." This word describes exactly how Ashley feels right now.

"I know. We have two babies." Stella found that the pain she felt throughout child birth had soon given way to the euphoria of having her twins in the world, and now that in turn is being replaced by the reality of the fact that they now have two children to look after, and they are so small. She's starting to panic a little.

Ashley is having an internal panic of her own, she genuinely scared she's going to break them. She's deliriously happy her Grandmother is sticking around for a while to help.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The first night in the hospital had been pretty horrendous. Stella had been exhausted, understandable after a labour that went into 8 hours, so Ashley decided it was her duty to get up with the babies throughout the night. Although 'get up' is a bit misleading, 'stay up' is probably more apt.

Ashley really didn't mind doing it, she loves these two tiny people more than she ever thought was possible, more than life itself, but it seemed as soon as Theo was settled, Elissa then stirred, and vice versa, a particularly vicious circle for the younger of the two new mothers. But Stella stayed in slumber throughout so it had been more that worth it.

The morning has arrived, and Ashley feels and looks like a zombie. No rest for the wicked, Ava has given them the all clear, so now they have to pack up the two newest members of their family and take them home. Ashley feels like she kinda needs a minute before she can even think about getting them ready, Stella is in the other room with Ava just having her final check, and Ashley finally has both babies, fed and changed, at the same time, neither of them are making noise. They are both quiet, Ashley who is sitting in the guest chair lays her head on the hospital bed Stella has just vacated, it will be okay if she just rests her eyes for a second. . .

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella had an amazing rest last night, Eden had been wonderful, but had paid the price for her own serenity if the state of her this morning was anything to go by, exhausted was an understatement. Stella fully planned to take over mommy duty as soon as they were home and let her wife get some rest.

She has just been examined by Ava, who really has been awesome throughout this whole process, Stella considers her a good friend, which is pleasing because she and Eden were obviously very close before this all happened. Stella strides back into the private room, excited to tell Eden that they are officially allowed to leave. She stifles a smile when she sees the younger woman, still seated in the chair at the side of the bed but top half sprawled out across the bed, still clutching one of the stuffed animals which she had obviously been using at some point to try and settle the children.

She looks adorable, Stella doesn't know what she did to deserve such a wonderful woman but she eternally grateful to have her. She decides to let her sleep, deciding that she will get the twins ready alone. With this thought she glances across at the babies, this could be quite the challenge.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella had just about managed to get them both dressed before Elissa decided she'd had enough of being moved around and prodded, she let out an almightily scream, Ashley panicked in her sleep riddled brain before jumping up and frantically looking in the direction of the infant's wail. Stella can't help but laugh, Ashley smirks, which quickly turns into a huge smile as she watches Stella calm their little girl down, by rocking her gently, placing tender kisses on her head, and talking gently into her ear, she sooths the child almost immediately. She's a natural, Ashley's heart swells with pride at the sight before her.

The next challenge turned out to be the car seats. It took the two of them, two grown women in their 30's, two scientists at that, almost 40minutes, to figure out how the hell these contraptions actually fit into the car, and stay there. Ashley was more than a little annoyed by the time they finished, she guessed a lack of sleep probably added to that. She slipped into the driver's seat and took a deep breath to compose herself and try and get the annoyance under control. Stella watches her wife intently, she knows she can let her temper get the better of her, especially when she's tired. She reaches over and places a hand on her leg. Ashley is surprised at the contact, she looks at the hand on her leg before looking at her wife quizzically, she is met by a grinning Stella, such is the happiness on her wife's face, she can't help the smile that hits her own.

"I love you." Stella rubs Eden's leg as she speaks.

Just like that Eden's annoyance melts away. How can she possible be angry about anything right now?

"I love you too." She slips the key into the ignition, and glances into the rear view mirror to take one last look their beautiful babies, before concentrating fully on the task in hand. Getting her family home.

**XXXXXXXX**

The next couple of days passed in a blur, babies are hard work, and two of them are exceptionally hard work. Stella and Eden, aided brilliantly by Audrey had gotten through them in a daze. Now however, everything was changing, Audrey had left this morning, she had to get back to Chicago for Zane and Sienna as their father was going out of town for work. Just to compound matters Ashley was needed back at the lab as soon as possible.

So now they have to learn to cope as a foursome. More than that Ashley has to learn how to incorporate being a mother with working full time, she's pretty sure that's going to involve sleeping at night, something which she hasn't done a great deal of in the last few days.

She has headed into the lab this afternoon, just to have a catch up with Mac, before coming back properly tomorrow, she was surprised at how hard it was for her to leave Stella and the babies, of course she was worried for Stella, as this is the first time she'll have to cope with them alone, even if it is only for a few hours, but more than that she just physically didn't want to leave them, it actually hurt to walk away from the three of them, coming back to work full time is going to be difficult.

She rushed through her meeting with Mac, who has promised to head round later to see his grandchildren, and had a quick five minutes with Adam, who only seemed to be able to comment on how tired she looks. Now she has just exited the main doors of the lab out into the street, she lets the cold air hit her face; it has a nice freshness to it.

She's pulled from her enjoyment by a tap on the arm; Ashley focuses her attention on being in front of her, its Katy, as always despite everything that's happened, she can't help her smile. Every time she sees this woman in the flesh, she is genuinely happy.

"Hey." Katy smiles as it seems Eden is pleased to see her.

"Hi."

"I hear congratulations are in order."

The smile on Ashley's face drops momentarily, as she sees Katy falter at her own words, but the red head pulls herself together, and manages to replace the frown with a smile almost immediately.

"Yeah, the babies have arrived." Ashley wonders how Katy found out; she picks up on the confusion and explains herself.

"Audrey called me and told me. I don't think I've ever heard her so excited."

Ashley realises just how close her grandmother and her ex girlfriend are, and she longs for Katy to part of her life again, she wants her to be involved with her family.

"You can meet them if you want? The babies I mean."

"I don't think Stella would appreciate that."

"No. No, you're probably right." Ashley hates this.

So does Katy, she knows she's got no-one to blame but herself.

"I wish things could be different Eden. If I hadn't come back to New York all guns blazing maybe they could've been." She swallows the emotion she feels. "Maybe I could have been a part of yours and Stella's life."

"It's not too late to put it right Katy."

Katy gives her a look which screams that she clearly thinks it is too late. Ashley has to try to convince her. "It's not. I mean it won't be easy, but Stella will give you another chance, if you want one."

"Eden you're wife hates my guts."

"With good reason. But luckily she loves me, and if I ask her to give you a chance, she will. But Katy it will be the last one."

"You really think she'd want us being friends."

"Yes, because she knows how important you are to me."

Katy nods, and can't help the tear that escapes, she quickly mops it up with the back of her coat sleeve before it can make its way down her cheek.

"What do you suggest?" Ashley smiles; she takes this as confirmation that Katy is willing to give it a go.

"I think you and Stella should go out."

"Alone?" it's practically a screech; the disbelief is clear in her voice.

"Trust me?" Katy nods. "I'll try and set it up, I'll call you okay."

Katy nods and Ashley turns to leave. "Eden." Ashley turns back to her former lover. "What are their names?"

Ashley grins as she answers. "Theo and Elissa."

Katy smiles and nods, before turning and heading into the lab, Ashley watches her disappear before heading back for her car, and home.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"Absolutely not."

Ashley has just pitched her idea to Stella for her and Katy to go out together to get to know each other better. The older woman is less than impressed.

"Look will you just take a second to think about this." Ashley pleads.

Stella crosses her arms and waits for her wife to explain a little more. "Katy isn't going anywhere. Okay. She's made it clear that she's staying in New York. So we can either continue down this road we're going, into warfare, or we can try to do something about it, to make our lives a little easier."

"I know how to make my life easier Eden. I can just pretend she doesn't exist."

Ashley sighs and takes a seat on the sofa, she really hates having disagreements with Stella, but this is one argument she absolutely cannot lose.

"Then I guess we have a real problem. Because I can't just pretend she doesn't exist."

Stella looks down at Eden, her heart goes out to her, she knows she's stuck in the middle, but this woman tried to destroy her marriage, why can't Eden she that she's asking a lot of her here. She joins her wife on the couch, and places an arm around her.

"You've got to realise where I'm coming from Eden, this woman tried to ruin my life, I still don't trust her." Stella words are softly spoken.

"If you give her a chance, get to know her, the trust will come. Surely that's the best the thing for everyone?"

"I don't know." Stella really isn't convinced.

Ashley really can't let this go. "Will you give it a try? For me?" She knows she's not really being fair here, she knows Stella would do anything for her.

"Stella I need her to be part of my life, and that's going to be really hard if you two are at war."

Stella exhales loudly and against all of her better judgement she agrees. "Okay. I'll do it. For you." She makes sure she emphasises the last two words.

"Thank you."

Ashley pulls her in for a kiss. The passion sparks between them, it's almost as if they both realise at the same time that it's been ages since they did this, just made out like a couple of teenagers. Between Stella's anti-sex hormones and the babies arriving, it really had been ages since they just kissed, just took five minutes to themselves and enjoyed the feel of each other's lips on their own. Pure bliss.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Please Review, or drop me a tweet at Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	36. Chapter 36

**Next chapter, hope you like it. As always thanks for the reviews.**

**Tked – I like that you hate Katy! She has been pretty horrible. Eden wanting them to get along so quickly was my way of trying to convey just how important this person is to her. As you will see from the following chapter, she doesn't push too hard! Anyway as one of the people who always reviews, your thoughts are always welcome, and I really appreciate them – I hope you enjoy this next chapter **

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

It has been about a month since Stella agreed to try and make things work with Katy for Eden's sake, but so far she has managed to avoid the actual meeting. Not that she's had to try particularly hard, or even that she's wanted to put it off, it's just the babies are officially six weeks old now, and they have been hard work. Anytime they have had a moment, the two of them have been using it to sleep. They've barely had time for each other, let alone Katy. But now things are settling down, the babies are getting into a routine, they are managing to sleep solidly for a few hours, at night too, and the women feel like they are starting to thrive in their new life and their new roles, Stella as a mother, and Eden as a working mother.

Mac couldn't be more proud of his daughter; she's been coming into work and giving her all, being as professional as ever despite the fact she looks exhausted. It seems she is getting less and less exhausted the longer time goes on, from what Eden has been telling him, she and Stella seem to be getting the babies under control. But the main thing he's garnered from his daughter's daily updates, is that her and Stella's lives currently consist of babies, work and sleep, and not much else. He decides he wants to help them with that.

He wanders into the AV lab where he finds Eden and Adam laughing and joking. Adam straightens up immediately; his fear of authority figures has always made Mac smile.

"Hey guy's how's the case going?"

Eden takes pity on her friend and answers the question. "Well Adam here is trying to pinpoint a cell phone signal for me, if he cracks it, the case will be going amazingly well."

Adam smiles and turns his concentration back to the computer screen. Satisfied that he has Eden's sole attention.

"What are your plans for tonight?" Mac's question takes Eden by surprise.

"Plans?" She acts confused. "Yeah I think I just about remember what they are." She laughs, as does Mac.

"You don't look as tired as usual." Mac comments on his recent observation.

"Yeah the babies are really good." Her grin doubles in size.

"It's Friday night, why don't you and Stella go out, have a good time."

"Well I know I said they're good. But I don't think they're quite ready to look after themselves."

Mac shakes his head exasperated. "This is me offering to babysit Eden."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Ashley is deadly serious.

"There's only one way to find out." He can tell Eden isn't convinced. "Come on Eden, I'm they're Grandpa. How about I promise to call you at any sign of trouble."

Ashley feels a bit like she's given her father the impression she doesn't want him to babysit. Which couldn't be further from the truth, she would love nothing more than to spend some quality time with her wife.

"I'm in. I'm so in." Ashley is emphatic. "But Stella might struggle to leave them."

Mac nods he knows she hasn't left their side so far, well the only other person she has trusted them with is Eden, so he can understand that this could be hard for her.

Ashley starts to think out loud. "How about we just don't tell her?"

"I think she'd notice."

Ashley rolls her eyes. "I mean we could just spring it on her later. That way she won't have the chance to freak out about leaving them."

"Arrrgh you mean ambush her?" The cheeky glint in his eyes means he's teasing his daughter.

Ashley tuts. "Dad really, you make it sound awful, it will be for her own good in the end."

"You know her best."

"Well okay she might not be happy about it to start with, but I'm sure I'll be able to charm her round." Ashley winks at her father.

Now it's Mac's turn to roll his eyes. "Okay Kiddo, I'll leave it with you. Just let me know what time I have to be at your place."

They exchange smiles and Mac wanders back off out into the bowels of the lab. Ashley is genuinely excited at the thought of spending some quality time with Stella.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley had arrived home around 20 minutes ago, and started to put her plan into action. She makes sure the babies are content, they are fed, changed, and ready for bed. She loves spending time with her two little guys. They are getting more and more of their own personalities and much to the delight of their parents have started smiling. Which never fails to melt Ashley's heart.

Stella has watched her wife intently, and she starts to wonder what's going on. She gave her a small kiss and went to work with the babies straight away, which in itself isn't unusual, but today Eden seems to be in a rush, when Stella asked her what she wanted to do for dinner, she mumbled something about ordering food in. There is definitely something fishy going on here.

Ashley wanders back into the main room, to find Stella sitting on the couch eyeing her suspiciously. Before she has a chance to question her, the door bell rings.

"I'll get it." Ashley scampers out of the room before Stella has a chance to vocalise the fact that she has no idea who it could be at the door.

Ashley walks back into the room with Mac in tow. Stella instantly smiles and rises to greet her oldest friend.

"Mac, hi." She kisses him on the cheek. "Are you here to visit the grand kids?" Stella still takes delight in the fact that her children are Mac's grandchildren; she knows it makes him feel old. She can't help but tease him.

"Err." Mac stumbles over his words, not really sure what to say. Luckily his daughter takes over.

"If you're completely against the idea, you can say no." Stella gives her wife a look which states 'I have no idea what you're talking about'.

Deep breath. "Mac is here to babysit. Just for a couple of hours, just give us the chance to spend some quality time together, just us."

Stella is touched, she knows why Eden looks so worried, the thought of leaving Theo and Elissa even if it's just for a couple of hours really doesn't sit well with her, but there's no one she'd rather leave them with than Mac.

Mac decides to try and help his daughter out, as Stella hasn't actually spoken yet, he assumes she's not a fan of the idea.

"I promise the first sign of any trouble, or if I panic I will call you guys straight away."

Ashley takes over. "I made us reservations at the Jade Hotel restaurant. So it's only like 5 minutes away, so in the unlikely event that Dad does need us back here, we're still in the area."

Stella feels like she's being tag teamed. She smiles father and daughter look as scared as each other. She puts them out of their misery, she guesses she's going to have to leave the twins at some point, why not now, and the fact that they will only be down the street really calms her.

"Great, I'll go and get ready." Stella smirks and saunters off into her bedroom. Ashley lets the go of the breath she's been holding. Pure relief, which quickly turns into excitement at the thought that she gets to take her wife on a date tonight.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They have had a brilliant evening so far. Stella has worried a lot, Mac has had a constant string of text messages from both women, but the babies are fine, and has the evening is going on; they are both starting to relax a little. They had drinks when they first arrived, cocktails, it's been so long since Stella has had any alcohol she's surprised she's not already drunk. Truth be told, she feels a little drunk, not from alcohol, but from Eden, she has been mesmerised by her wife this evening, she is beautiful, she has been funny, considerate and loving, and Stella still finds herself thinking she can't believe how lucky she is to have the amazing woman in her life. She reaches her hand across the dinner table and places it on top of Eden's.

"Thank you for making me do this. I've had the best time."

Ashley is so pleased. It's been nice, they've just been able to chat, and look at each other, not having to worry about when the next cry is going to come through the baby monitor. Don't get it wrong, her heart aches with how much she's missing the twins right now, and she'd be lying if she said she hasn't been thinking about how they're doing every five seconds.

"The night is still young."

This gives Stella an evil thought. "Did you say this place is a hotel?"

"Yeah." Ashley wonders where her wife is going with this.

"Do you think they rent rooms by the hour?" Stella bites her bottom lip, excited at the thought.

Ashley can't believe her ears. She and Stella haven't made love in so long; she decides to continue down this playful path. "Stella, this is a very classy place. I doubt they rent by the hour. But I'd be willing to pay for the whole night if you're suggesting what I think you are?"

Stella wiggles her eyebrows. "I'm suggesting."

Ashley feels a jolt of electricity at her wife's words. "Are you sure that you're okay to?"

"I had my six week check with Ava yesterday, everything is fine. It was the first question I asked her."

Stella obviously wants this as much as Ashley does, the last obstacle Ashley can think of. "What about Dad?"

"I've already text him, he's fine to hang around for a couple more hours, and in fact he said he's in no rush to go anywhere." Now Eden is biting her lip, Stella loves the effect she has on Eden, her pupils dilated, her mouth hanging open. Stella decides to really get to her. "So Ashley, what do you reckon, do you think we could keep ourselves occupied for a couple of hours?"

Jackpot, Ashley smiles, this is turning into the best date night ever.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

What an amazing few hours, Ashley looks across at her wife who appears to be falling asleep, Ashley is in the middle of getting dressed, she kicks the bed gently causing Stella to open her eyes.

"Hey, don't you be falling to sleep."

"Are you kidding, after what you just did to me, I'm exhausted. I want to stay here forever."

Ashley smirks, the passion reignites within her at Stella's words, and she would love nothing more than to dive back into the bed, but she knows they can't. "And what about our children, and my father?"

"Okay, okay, spoilsport." Stella reluctantly moves and starts to search for her own clothes which are strewn around the hotel room. As she's pottering around, she remembers a subject she had wanted to bring up over dinner, but had been somewhat distracted.

"I was thinking about Katy." Stella starts tentatively.

Ashley can't pass this opportunity up. "What just now?" She gestures her head towards the bed.

Stella's head whips up, just in time to see her wife dissolve into giggles. "Ha ha very funny." She supposes she left herself wide open for that one.

"Seriously Eden."

Ashley gets serious; she knows Stella's thoughts on the matter are hugely important to her, she nods, face deadly serious.

"I think I'm ready to try to get on with her?"

Ashley can't believe it, she hasn't really pressed the issue since Stella had agreed to go out with Katy all those weeks ago, instead preferring not to push her, and hoping that Stella would come to her regarding the issue. It appears today is the day.

"Really?"

Stella nods. "I know how important this is to you. And you do so much for me and the twins; I guess I can do this for you."

"Stella I do those things for you, because you're my family. I love you and the twins. I don't expect anything in return."

"I know that. But it works both ways Eden, I love you. And I want to do this for you. Because I know how much it hurts you, to not have her in your life. And I hate the thought that you're in pain."

"Thank you." Ashley feels really emotional, she is frantically trying to fight back the tears she can feel forming. It's not long before she finds herself being encompassed in her wife's arms, and the tears flow. She clings onto Stella for dear life. What did she ever do to deserve someone like this in her life?

**XXXXXXXXX**

The 'date' was set up pretty quickly after Stella brought it up at the hotel, Stella deciding she wanted to bite the bullet and get it over with. She can't say she's particularly looking forward to it. But the night has arrived. Stella has been locked away in the bedroom getting ready, she wants to make sure her outfit is perfect, she wants it to exude confidence, but not be too scary, she is supposed to be making her peace with this woman.

Stella wanders into the front room to find Eden set up on the living room floor, with the babies laid out in front of her on a blanket, she currently hovering over the two children and pulling funny faces at them, Theo and Elissa are squealing with pure delight at their mother. Stella loves watching Eden with their children, she is so good with them, a natural, and she can tell, even at only a couple of months old, the two babies absolutely idolise her.

"So how do I look?" Stella feels bad almost for breaking the magical moment.

Ashley turns to look at her wife and her jaw drops. "You look stunning." She rises up onto her knees to give Stella her full attention. The smile drops from her face. "Should I be worried? I mean you are going on a date with my ex girlfriend."

Stella smacks her wife gently on the shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm doing this for you remember. I just wanted to show her how hot your wife is."

"Well mission accomplished."

Before they have a chance to discuss it further, they hear the sound of their front door opening, and within seconds Flack and Adam waltz into the front room. Ashley decided that the boys could keep her company this evening, and if they're honest, they are looking forward to spending some quality time with Theo and Elissa, so much so, Flack has come baring gifts.

"Ah good, Stella you're still here. You can see the greatness that I have purchased your children."

All eyes are on him, as he rustles around in his bag. He looks well pleased with himself when he pulls out two small pieces of material, one blue and one very pink. He holds them up for the two moms, so they can see what they are; bibs. And can see what they say; 'Mommy's little Knicks fan'. Ashley smiles delighted, Stella rolls her eyes, which Flack picks up on.

"Hey, I had to have these custom made, the ones in the Knicks store all said 'Daddy's little Knicks fan'".

Adam not to be out done, pulls out his own present, he follows the same pattern as Flack, revealing them to be baby grows, holding them up long enough for the two women to read the inscription on the front. Ashley reads it out loud.

"'I love my mommies'. Cute."

Adam and Flack throw their gifts onto the table, highly satisfied with themselves. Before shrugging their coats off and diving down to join Ashley on the living room floor, they instantly take over playing with the babies, these two absolutely love being uncles. Again Stella's heart swells at the sight of the five of them all playing. She checks her watch and realises she needs to leave. Now all she feels is dread.

"Right guys, have fun. I'll see you all later."

Stella leans down and kisses Eden, who feels sympathy for Stella, but immense joy that her wife is doing this for her. "Good luck. Call me if you need me."

Stella makes her way to the front door, throwing back over her shoulder. "Try not to mess the place up too much guys."

The three remaining adults snigger. Then Adam remembers he has something he wants to discuss with Ashley.

"So Ash, where's Mac, did he not want to get involved in this babysitting party?"

"I don't think he's recovered from last week, when he had them both to himself." She chuckles, but that wasn't really the answer Adam was after. Flack decides to help him out a little.

"So it's not that he's got other plans or anything?" The penny drops for Ashley, these two are fishing for information and with good reason; she knows where her Dad is tonight. Flack continues.

"It's just when I went to the lab earlier to collect my man Adam here, Mac seemed a little dressed up. Y'know really dressed to impress."

Ashley smirks, as Adam takes over. "Yeah and the cologne, you could smell from the elevator."

Ashley cringes hoping her father hasn't really overdone it with the aftershave. These two are worse than women for gossip. She takes pity on them.

"Well let's just say Stella isn't the only one who has a date tonight."

She laughs out loud as both Flack and Adam allow their jaw to drop. Adam speaks first. "Who's he on a date with?"

"I don't know, Christine something?" She can't help her next line. "Tell me guys, is it upsetting that your 50 year old boss has a better love life than you do?"

That certainly shuts them up. Only momentarily though Flack turns to Elissa, and tickles her stomach. "Your Grandpa's on a date huh. Your grandpa's on a date." He does it in his best baby voice, and he's rewarded with an almighty giggle from the young Bonasera. The three adults can't help their own laughs, and they decide their main mission for the next 20 minutes at least will be to make both babies giggle like idiots.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella and Katy have arranged to meet at a small bar, which should be relatively quiet, which will give them a chance to really talk. Stella has just crossed the threshold of the bar, and spots the younger red haired woman straight away. She takes a deep breath and heads right over. Katy rises from her chair as soon as she sees Stella ready to greet her.

"Hi Stella, thank you for coming." It's all a bit awkward, neither woman really knows what to do; Stella just nods and starts to remove her jacket. Katy can't help but appreciate this woman, she really is very beautiful, she can see why Eden fell for her.

"I thought we could order a bottle of wine, Eden said you like wine."

"Wine's fine." It seems Stella isn't going to make this easy for Katy, and why should she. The younger woman has acted horribly throughout.

"Stella I'm sorry." Katy feels like she needed to get that out there from the off.

Stella looks her over; she decides to be brutally honest. "I'm not sure I believe you." She sees Katy's face drop. "But my wife believes you are sorry, and for her I'm willing to give you the chance to explain, why you did what you did. And once all the cards are on the table, maybe we can move forward."

Katy smiles, although she's a little scared of Stella right now, she's glad she's going to get the chance to try and explain herself.

"I need to know why you acted the way you did when you arrived in New York."

Katy nods. This is not going to be easy.

"Eden was the love of my life. While I was working for the FBI, for that whole 13 years, I hated myself for what I'd done to her. Being in the FBI had its perks; I could keep an eye on her, up to a point. I knew when she was released from hospital, when she finished school, when she went to Detroit, and when she moved to New York."

"Pro stalker." Stella tries to lighten the mood a little she can tell Katy is getting pretty emotional.

"I did feel like a stalker. But when she moved to New York, I had my hopes raised."

Stella doesn't really understand this, but Katy is about to explain. "Eden and I had always dreamed about moving to New York, and living our life here. When she moved, I guess I thought she moved for me. It's ridiculous, I know, as far as she was concerned I was dead. But I really did have hope, you know?"

She looks at Stella to see if she's understanding anything she's saying, Stella nods, and that gives her the confidence to continue.

"What you've got to remember Stella, is Eden had 10 years to get over me before she met you, and she didn't exactly cope very well. I don't know how much she told you about her time in Detroit, but I think more often than not she tried to find happiness at the bottom of a bottle, she had more than a few DUI's back then."

"She lost her drivers license and almost got kicked off the force." Stella and Eden have discussed her past and in particular her drinking, especially when it threatened to become a problem in her present. Stella doesn't think her wife is or has ever been an alcoholic, but she knows when it comes to drink, she has a tendency to go too far.

Katy doesn't know why she's surprised that Eden has shared this aspect of her life with Stella they are married after all, she nods to show she agrees with Stella's statement, and then carries on with her explanation.

"The point I'm trying to make, is that neither of us acted favourably, when she thought she'd lost me, she turned to drink, and it took her 10 years, and meeting you to get over me. When I realised I'd lost her for good, I couldn't cope either, and I acted disgustingly, but I haven't been given the luxury of ten years, I've been told 'you've lost her, deal with it', I'm expected to be okay with it straight away."

"Katy believe me, I can imagine how heartbroken you must have been when you found out about me, I don't know what I would do if I ever lost Eden, but I was six months pregnant, and you told me you were going to take away the mother of my children, that's low regardless of the circumstances, that's what I'm having a hard time forgiving." Stella hopes that she's being clear here.

"I understand that. And I am truly Sorry Stella. I was grieving I wasn't myself, and I can't believe I put that extra stress on you, when you were so far gone in your pregnancy. I hate myself for that, and worse I know Eden hates me for how I acted too." She is doing a fair job of keeping the tears at bay; a few deep breaths help her compose herself further.

Stella gets it, she really does, grief can have an almighty affect on someone, and make them do horrible and hurtful things. As well as coming across as being completely genuine, Katy also seems highly ashamed at her behaviour. She can just about let this slide, but there is one other thing that Stella has to know. "Are you still in love with my wife?"

In the interests of being completely honest Katy delivers her answer. "Yes." She struggles to keep her composure. "But Stella you have to believe me when I say, I'm trying really hard not to be."

Stella knows this isn't an easy task from back when she was trying to deny her own feelings for Eden. Her heart goes out to Katy, Stella can tell she's resigned to fact that she's lost Eden, and she's really trying. Stella is actually quite worried about her; she has a dullness to her eyes almost as if the life has drained from them. She knows how self destructive Eden became when she lost Katy, and she finds herself terrified that Katy will go down the same path, and if she succeeds, Stella knows Eden won't recover from losing this woman again.

So Stella makes her peace with it. Partly because she has no idea how she would react in the same circumstances, only that it wouldn't be pleasant for the people around her. That along with the fact that she can tell by looking at Katy that she needs to be a part of her family, just as much as Eden needs her to be a part of it.

"I know that feeling." Katy looks shocked. "You haven't heard the story of me and Eden getting together yet have you?"

Katy shakes her head no; delighted that Stella seems to have softened towards her. Stella continues. "Well let's just say I'd never been with a woman before, and I wasn't exactly welcoming of Eden's advances. . ."

And just like that they settled into an evening of stories about Eden, and rather than being jealous of the other, they both embraced them as a part of Eden's life that they missed out on, and they both really enjoyed them, and more than that, needed to hear the stories. It seems they may well be able to be civil after all.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Stella has just returned home it's around 11.30pm she's surprised at just how good a night she has had with Katy. Once they got the heavy stuff out of the way, it had been brilliant; she can see why Eden has been so adamant about having her in their lives. She walks into the front room and finds Flack and Adam asleep on one couch and Eden slumped in one of the comfy chairs also sock on, gripping one of the baby monitors in her hand against her chest. The twins obviously wore the three of them out.

Stella moves towards Eden, and leans down placing a gentle kiss onto her lips. Ashley catches them straight away, and pulls Stella into a more forceful kiss; maybe she wasn't as asleep as first thought! Ashley pulls Stella onto her lap, never breaking the kiss. Eventually she pulls back; Stella can't help but think she looks cute, with her tired eyes. Ashley smiles, Stella is in a very good mood, that's got to be good right?

"How did it go?"

"Put it this way, I'm sure in time, Katy and I could be friends."

"Really?"

"Really." Stella doesn't want to talk any more; her lips are back on Eden's. She becomes acutely aware that Flack and Adam are still in the room, so before things progress any further, she pulls Eden from the chair, and drags her towards the bedroom, kissing all the way. As they pass the couch Ashley drops the baby monitor onto Flack and Adam on the couch, enjoy boys.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**There you go. I've been thinking about introducing the Christine character for a while, I feel like Mac's getting a little lonely. So she will be sticking around. As will Katy, although things may get a little darker for her as she starts spending time with Eden and Stella. . . **

**Please Review. It's what I live for. Or drop me a tweet/follow over at Eden_Ashley_Chr **


	37. Chapter 37

**Thanks for all the positive reviews so far. Please feel free to leave me some more.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

For the first time since her rising from the dead and her arrival in the NYPD; Katy and Ashley have ended up working the same case. Katy as the lead detective and Ashley as the CSI obviously. Ashley and Hawkes had been called to a shootout at an abandoned warehouse, it had gang warfare written all over it, hence why Katy and her team got involved rather than Flack. It had been fine, Katy and Ashley work well together, they always had, and they managed to be uber professional, but still friendly at the same time, Ashley thinks a lot of that is down to Stella and Katy putting aside their differences; it really has made things a lot easier.

Ashley is currently sitting in her office, going over some lab results from said case, when Katy walks in, looking tired, it has been a long shift; they are now into their second day.

"Hey." Ashley smiles, she's usually the one that looks exhausted.

"What a day." Katy shakes her head.

"Two days! We got them though."

Now Katy smiles, they did get them, she had just come back from arresting six members of a rival gang, between the murders and the arrests; there are now about 11 less gang members on the streets, New York should be a slightly safer place, for tonight at least.

"I am officially allowed to go home."

"I've just got to finish this, and them I'm also free." Ashley has an idea. "Why don't you come back to mine; we could have dinner, and you can meet Elissa and Theo finally."

Katy's not sure and her facial expression conveys as much. "I don't know Eden, what would Stella think me just turning up."

"I thought you two got on really well when you went out?"

"We did." Katy reassures her. "But it's one thing me and Stella going out to clear the air, and another you bringing me home, to meet your children."

Ashley sighs. "Look the whole point of you and Stella clearing the air was so that you could become more a part of our life."

"I guess." Ashley can tell she's still not convinced.

"Look, I'll call her before we go okay?"

Katy nods, which brings out a huge smile on her ex girlfriend's face, which in turns makes her smile. Ashley reaches for her cell phone and makes the call immediately. Katy can't help but worry, truth is she's less worried about how Stella will react, more worried about how she will react to seeing Eden in her family environment, with her wife and her children, happy. What has she got to counter that with, 14 years of misplaced hope, a broken heart, and a non-existent personal life? She feels pathetic in comparison, and she not sure she's ready to see Eden's new life in all its glory. But at the same time, she knows she's going to have to confront it at some point. Why not bite the bullet now.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stella although a little apprehensive, had heard the excitement in her wife's voice, and didn't have the heart to do anything other than welcome Katy into their home with open arms. She's in the front room waiting for them to arrive; Theo and Elissa are in their bouncy chairs squealing with delight at the colourful mobiles hanging above their heads. Stella smiles, her children are happy smiling children and she loves it.

She hears the front door open and braces herself. Eden and a sheepish looking Katy wander into the front room, Stella calms a little obviously she's not the only one who's worried. Stella rises to greet them both.

"Hey. I've missed you." Ashley can't help it; she worked through the night and hasn't seen Stella or her babies since yesterday morning when she left for work. She kisses Stella on the lips, the older woman is careful to make sure it's just a peck, more than aware that this can't be easy for Katy. She moves past Eden; who heads straight for Elissa and Theo; to Katy, she greets her warmly.

"Hi Katy, great to see you again." She kisses her on the cheek.

"Yeah you too Stella. Thank you for inviting me."

"Anytime. I hope you like Moussaka?"

"Sounds Great."

Their attention is taken by a burst of laughter from the twins; they both instantly look over and see Eden leant over showering them both with big wet kisses all over their faces, and the babies absolutely loving it. As usual Stella's heart melts, as does Katy's, until she remembers that these are Eden's children, Eden and Stella's, and her heart sinks, she feels sick.

"Katy come meet them." Ashley has taken a break from kissing the babies, and summons Katy over. Katy takes a deep breath frantically trying to regain her composure. Stella looks at the red head, she can tell this is killing her; her heart goes out to her.

Ashley introduces Katy to the twins, well as much as you can introduce an adult to two 8 week old babies. Stella decides to intervene and give Katy a chance to calm down emotionally.

"Katy, why don't I give you the tour?"

Katy jumps up happy to escape and follows Stella out of the room, Ashley doesn't really think much of it, and just carries on playing on with the twins. As soon as they are out of the room, out of Eden's eye line, Stella turns back towards Katy.

"I know you've been here before Katy." Stella smirks; this apartment has been in Eden's family for years, she knows Eden and Katy have stayed here more than a few times when they were together. The reason Stella is stating the obvious, is to convey that she knows she doesn't need a tour. Katy gets this instantly and is grateful that Stella decided to take pity on her.

"Are you okay?" Stella's question is laced with genuine concern.

Katy nods, it quickly turns into a shake of the end. "I knew this would be hard, I've got to get through it."

"You know where the bathroom is if you want to take a second."

"Thank you." Katy heads for the bathroom, and manages to keep the tears at bay until she's on the other side of the door.

Stella waits until she hears the bathroom door close and strides into the kitchen, she shouts Eden on the way, and it's only a few seconds before her wife is in the kitchen with a confused look on her face. Stella is a little angry that Eden has been so insensitive. She is leaning against the centre island palms flat. She looks up at Eden.

"I thought you knew Katy?"

If Ashley looked confused before, she's really flabbergasted now. "I do."

"Then how is it that you can't see that this is killing her?" Stella is very firm and clear in what she is saying.

"What?"

"Do you think it's easy for her, to see you with the twins, to see us both living here with our family?" a week ago Stella never thought in a million years she would be fighting Katy's corner against Eden.

"Eden this is really hard for her. You have been so concerned about having her back in your life; you haven't stopped to think about what this is doing to her."

"She wants to be a part of our life too."

"Eden, she is still in love with you, and yeah she's trying to get over it, but this; this is too much too soon."

Ashley shakes her head, Stella is right she just assumed that Katy would want to be part of her life, and the truth is she really does want to be a part of Eden's life, but everything that, that comes with; Stella, Elissa and Theo, she probably isn't ready for all that. Ashley realises that she has been so lost in her own needs to have Katy in her life; she can't believe she has been so selfish.

It's at this point Katy enters the kitchen with a clearly rehearsed smile in her face, it doesn't stay there long, she can tell she has obviously walked into something, the tension is thick in the air, and Eden looks like she's just been thoroughly told off. It's her ex lover that looks up at her first; her eyes are filled with emotion, which in turn undoes all of Katy's hard work in the bathroom, she is now frantically trying to keep her own emotions in check.

"I'm sorry. If you're not ready for this I'll drive you home."

Katy looks over at Stella who smiles. She's grateful to the older woman, and decides now she's here she may as well try to take this next step, on her 'getting over Eden Ashley programme.'

"Actually, I'd like to stay if that's okay?"

Ashley smiles. "Of course. If you're sure?"

"I am."

The three women all put on an exhausting front for the rest of the evening, but the main thing is they managed to get through it. It had been excruciating for Katy. She realises fully for the first time, that Eden moved on. Yes it took her time, but she moved on and found happiness, real true happiness, without her. Not just 'Oh well Katy's gone, so I'll settle for this' happiness. The real thing, she's happier than she ever was with Katy. And this hits the red head hard.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After the painful experience that had been dinner the other night, Ashley is feeling altogether more playful today. It's Saturday, and although she had to work this morning, she has the whole afternoon off, but better than that, her Dad, Mac, also has the afternoon off, and has invited her Stella and the twins for an afternoon stroll around Central Park. Which is of course lovely, but Ashley can't help but think there may be a little more to this little trip out, she has a feeling it may involve a certain Christine that her father has been gushing about recently, that combined with the fact that he is being very coy about this afternoon's activities.

The four of them are currently walking through the park, and Ashley smiles when she sees Mac, but is slightly disappointed when he appears to be alone, Stella smirks Eden had of course shared her thoughts on what she thought was going to happen today.

"Hi Dad, you alright?"

Mac picks up on his daughters sour mood, and doesn't understand it, he greets Stella with a kiss, and then Eden the same way. "I'm good, are you okay?"

He swoops down onto his grandchildren whilst his daughter considers her answer.

Ashley decides to be honest. "I guess I thought today was the big introduction."

Mac smirks. "Well, you may well be right."

That turns Ashley's frown upside down. She slaps Stella on the arm in an 'I told you so' manner causing the older woman to roll her eyes. Mac continues.

"I wouldn't look too pleased."

This causes both women to look at him in uncertainty. He starts to explain himself. "You see Christine was my old partner's sister. So she knows me from years ago."

He hopes this starts to explain things a little for his daughter and daughter in law, apparently not. "I didn't have a daughter back then. This situation." He gestures amongst the five of them. "Takes quite some explaining. So I thought the best way to get it all out in the open would be for us all to meet."

Stella can't believe Mac. "Let me get this straight, you haven't even told her you've got a daughter?"

Mac nods, Stella shakes her head in disbelief. Ashley needs to get things clear for her own mind. "So not only does this woman not know that you've got a daughter, she also doesn't know that said daughter is married, to another woman, and that you are the grandfather to twins."

Mac nods again. "Yeah that pretty much covers it."

"Oh man, you are in so much trouble." Ashley can't help but laugh, this is the kind of predicament she would expect Flack or Adam to get themselves into, not her father.

Stella is also finding the funny side. "I can't believe you thought this was a good idea." She looks at Eden. "I hope youre ready for an awkward afternoon."

Ashley exhales loudly, and nods. Something catches Mac's eyes behind the Bonasera's. "Well brace yourselves ladies, because she's here."

Both Ashley and Stella can't help but turn towards Mac's gaze, and they see a smiling blonde lady heading towards them. Ashley wonders how long that smile's going to last. The blonde makes it to Mac, and greets him with a 'hey' and a kiss. Before turning her concentration to the foursome who are obviously part of the group.

"Hi I'm Christine." Not backwards about coming forwards.

Ashley takes the older woman's outstretched hand, but doesn't really know what to say, how is she supposed to introduce herself. "Nice to meet you. I'm Eden."

Stella laughs as she watches her wife struggle; she takes Christine's hand next. "And I'm Stella; these two are Theo and Elissa."

"Oh, they're adorable. Are they yours?" Christine looks from Stella to Eden, when neither proffers an answer, she momentarily wonders if they have stolen the children. Mac decides an explanation is required sooner rather than later.

"I thought we could all go to the diner by the lake, grab a coffee, and give me a chance to explain everything."

Christine is really panicking now, who are these two women? Who are these babies, she has the horrible thought that they could be Mac's but why wouldn't he have told her about them, they are really young, why is he even dating her if he's just had children with someone else. She supposes all these questions will be answered over the course of the afternoon. With this thought in her mind she follows the party to the diner.

**XXXXXXXXX**

They all settled down in the dinner, the babies both released from their numerous layers and their push chair are now delighting in life in their highchairs, they love being able to see things. Ashley and Stella are feeling a little more tense than their children, they know what's about to happen. Ashley has noted that Christine looks pretty pissed off already. She hopes her Dad knows what he's doing. Mac arrives back at the table with the last of the coffees, and sits next to Christine, he decides to get right into attempting to explain his rather unconventional family to this woman, a woman he is sure he is falling in love with.

"So Christine, you're probably wondering who everyone is, and why I asked them all here today."

Christine just nods, but she's wearing an expression that's screaming, 'you better tell me what the hell is going on here Taylor'. Mac continues.

"Well let me introduce everyone properly." He gestures towards Eden. "This is Eden, my daughter."

Ashley braces herself, she's wearing a smile, but she's ready for an inquisition. Christine wastes no time in presenting one.

"Mac I'm really confused. You never had a daughter when I knew you before." Christine isn't stupid, Eden looks around 30 years old, she would have been around, when her brother was Mac's partner.

"That's right I didn't have a daughter back then."

Well that doesn't help at all. "Mac I'm really struggling to understand what's going on here."

"I didn't know Eden existed until about four and half years ago."

Ashley decides to try and help him out a little. "And he didn't know I was his daughter, until like two years ago."

"You have a long lost daughter?" Christine tries to process the information she's been given.

"Basically yes. I will go into all the nitty gritty details, but for now all you need to know is that Eden is my daughter."

Christine accepts this, and then looks across to Stella and the twins. "And where exactly do these fit into all of this."

"Well Stella is Eden's wife." Stella is wearing a matching smile to Eden's previous one, clearly plastered on for effect, Mac carries on. "And these two little bundles of joy are their children. My grandchildren."

Christine doesn't speak, her mind is racing, she has a million thoughts and questions chasing each other around her brain.

"I know this must be a shock, but I wasn't really sure how to explain it all, so I thought what better way than to get you all together." Mac is panicking a little.

Once more Ashley needs to voice something. "I'd just like to get out, that me and Stella knew nothing about this until about 5 seconds before you arrived, so we've been ambushed too."

This makes Christine smile; at least she isn't being ganged up on. So it turns out Mac isn't the lone wanderer she thought, he's a family man.

"Wow so you come with the full package."

"Yeah. I hope that doesn't put you off too much?"

"Are you kidding, if it means I get to hang out with these little guys, how could I be anything but delighted?" She gestures towards Theo and Elissa, who also seem to have taken an interest in the conversation, they had stopped playing and seemed to be listening intently to the conversation the adults have been having, almost as if they had picked up on the tension in the room. Christine dives right in and starts playing with them, it's not long before they are whooping with delight again. Ashley raises her eyebrows at her father and smiles. Seems like he's played this all very well after all. I mean what woman can resist twin babies.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Katy is not in a good place. Her dinner with Eden and her family had been well over a week ago, and she thinks she has felt progressively worse about her own life each day since. She has spent the majority of her time in bars drinking. She feels like such a hypocrite, bringing up Eden's drinking problem with Stella, and here she is creating one of her own.

She can't help it. She has just been kicked out of a bar due to last orders being called, but instead of going home to sleep it off, she found herself in the off licence near her apartment purchasing a bottle of dark rum. Now here she is sitting at her kitchen table, alone. All she can think is that everybody's lives including her own would have been better if she'd just stayed dead. It's this thought more than any other, that brings the waves of tears again. She empties her glass; it burns as it makes its way down her throat, closing her eyes as it goes causing more tears to spill over. She refills the glass.

Life is not going well, Eden doesn't want her anymore, a lot of the detectives in her precinct view her with suspicion, such is the popularity of Stella Bonasera amongst them, and her own mother can barely look her in the eyes. When she returned to Providence her mother was a shadow of the woman she left behind all of those years before. Her father had left, her parents' marriage unable to survive their daughter's murder. A new batch of tears, forceful, again she downs the brown liquid before quickly refilling her empty glass once more. Yes she can't help but think that the world would be a better place without her in it; indeed it was, before her return, she has come back and made everyone she loves miserable.

She decides there and then that she doesn't want to be the cause of so much pain for the people she loves anymore, and resolves to do something about it. She downs her drink again for Dutch courage as she makes her way towards the medicine cabinet in her bathroom to see what she can find.

She gets together quite a stash and lays them all out in front of her on the kitchen table. She refills her glass once more, and takes a deep breath. Content with her decision.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is fidgeting in bed. It's starting to annoy Stella, it's close to midnight. But Ashley can't sleep, and she can't for the life of her think why, she's tired, but there's this niggling feeling, in her brain and in her chest that something terrible is happening. So much so that she's already been up three times to check on the twins, they are both fine and sleeping soundly. She has called Mac, he sounded sleepy but fine, she smirked a little when she heard Christine in the background asking who had called, it seems she is fully on board with the Taylor/Bonasera family situation. Way to go Dad.

She sits up in bed again, she can't explain it, she feels restless. Stella turns on the bedside lamp on her side of the bed at her wife's sudden movement.

"Shorty, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't know, you know when you just get a feeling of impending doom, like something really bad is going to happen." Ashley tries her best to explain it.

"Well, I'm fine obviously. You've practically worn out the carpet by checking on the twins, so I assume they're okay?"

"Yeah. And I've called Mac, and he seems to be better than okay." She giggles at her own little joke. In the interests of getting back to sleep as quickly as possible, Stella doesn't ask.

"So everyone you love is accounted for?"

Ashley nods, she knows Flack and Adam will be fine, but she still can't shake this feeling. Then it hits her all of a sudden. Stella watches as her eyes go wide. "Katy."

Ashley reaches for her cell phone and calls her number right away. It rings and finally connects to answer phone. Ashley is really starting to worry now. "She's not picking up."

Stella assumes this is probably because it's gone midnight and she's asleep. But she knows this mood in Eden, and she knows she won't rest until she's sure Katy is okay. "Why don't you go and make sure she's okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, neither of us is going to get any sleep if you don't." Stella jokes.

"Thank you." Ashley kisses Stella before leaping out of bed and throwing on some sweats, and frantically heading out of the apartment. The sooner she makes sure Katy is okay, the sooner she can get back to her beautiful wife.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley made it to Katy's apartment building in record time, she runs up the three flights of stairs to her ex girlfriend's apartment, and starts to frantically knock. She doesn't want to be too loud due to the time; she doesn't want to wake the neighbours. But the longer the door goes unanswered the louder her hammering becomes. When it becomes clear that no one is going to answer the door, she stands back and contemplates her next course of action. She decides before attempting shoulder barging the door open, she will simply try the handle. She chuckles as her hunch proves correct and the door is unlocked.

She tentatively moves into the apartment. "Katy?"

No answer. She notices a light on behind the kitchen door, she moves towards it, that feeling of utter dread from earlier is back in the pit of her stomach; she places a hand on the kitchen door, and slowly pushes it open. She's not prepared for what she sees on the other side of the door. Katy is sprawled out on the floor; she sees a mass of pills and empty wrappers and containers all across the table. She goes straight into CSI mode; she calls an ambulance and the dives onto the floor to Katy.

Ashley knows there isn't much she can do until the EMT's arrive, but she puts Katy into the recovery position, and starts talking to her in the hope she will get a response.

"Katy, can you hear me?" No response, Ashley pushes her hair out of her face. "Katy its Eden, please talk to me."

A small grunt emits from the stricken woman, and Ashley will take it, that's her hope right there. Where the hell is the ambulance?

**XXXXXXXXX**

The ambulance did arrive, and Ashley had accompanied Katy to the hospital in it. Calling Stella on the way to let her know what's going on. Now she finds herself in the hospital waiting room, waiting for news. Her head in her hands, all she can think is 'this is all my fault'. She pushed Katy too far. She hates that Katy was this desperate and felt that she couldn't come to her. She can't believe she was so desperate she thought she had nothing to live for. Ashley's tears started as soon as she sat in this chair, and she can't seem to stop them.

Stella runs into the waiting room, she see's Eden and her heart breaks, she runs over to her wife and pulls her into an almighty hug, and comforts her as the sobs reverberate through her body. She eventually calms down and looks at Stella.

"Where are Theo and Elissa?"

"Mac's got them."

Ashley thinks back to her earlier phone call to her father, and the fact that he seemed to be in bed with Christine, and grimaces. "I bet he was really happy about being disturbed."

"He and Christine were both more than happy to help us out."

"What a mess." Ashley feels the tears coming again.

"How bad is it?" Stella has to ask. Her wife has been through so much in her life, the thought of her having to deal with losing Katy again doesn't bare thinking about.

"Pretty bad." It's all Ashley can manage through fear of the uncontrollable sobs returning.

They are disturbed from their embrace by a Doctor heading towards them. "Eden Bonasera?"

"Yeah that's me." She manages through the sniffles.

"You came in with Miss Peterson?"

"Yeah that's right." Ashley freezes she almost doesn't want to know the answer to her next question. "How is she?"

Both Stella and Eden hold their breath as they wait for his response.

"Well it was touch and go for a second, but we managed to get all of the drugs out of her system, she's a little groggy but she's awake, and she should be fine."

The relief actually pours out of Ashley. "Can I see her?"

"Of course." And just as quickly as he arrived the Doctor disappears.

Ashley stands up ready to head towards Katy's room, she looks back when Stella doesn't move. "Are you coming?"

Stella shakes her head. "No. I think you need to do this alone."

Ashley looks at her wife, causing Stella to smile. "I'll be right here waiting for you."

Ashley nods, grateful once again that she has this amazing woman in her life. She moves towards Katy's room and slowly pushes the door open, mirroring what she had done earlier in Katy's apartment. This time she finds Katy looking slightly more alive. Slightly.

Katy feels and looks rather embarrassed. She can't believe she's done this to the people she loves, again. She has spoken to her mother on the phone, and she is currently on her way from Providence. Ashley slowly sits in the chair at the side of the bed, and reaches across and takes Katy's hand in her own.

"How are you feeling?"

What a question. Katy's main feeling is one of stupidity, but seeing the red marks around Eden's eyes she feels remorse.

"I'm okay. You look like shit."

Eden smiles, stroking Katy's fingers. "Believe me, I look a damn site better than you do."

She looks up at Katy and the emotion in her ex girlfriends eyes, makes Katy start to weep, she can't help it the tears just arrived, but she is astounded by Eden's next words.

"I'm so sorry." More tears for Ashley.

"Eden, you have got nothing to be sorry for. I need to apologize to you."

"I pushed you too hard. I didn't realise how difficult it would be for you to be around me and Stella, I was just so desperate to have you in my life." Ashley bows her head.

"Hey, you listen to me. I didn't do what I did because of you. In fact your one of the main reasons I'm so ashamed of what I did."

Ashley looks up again confused. Katy tries to explain. "This has made me realise that I want to live. For you, for my Mom, but more importantly for me. I thought I was a hindrance, I thought life was better when I was dead."

"Don't you dare ever think that. I thought I'd lost you again tonight." The thought kills her.

"I'm going to head back to Providence with Mom." Katy tries to steer away from the obviously emotive, and explain her plans for the immediate future.

"Will you be back?" Ashley really hopes she will be, but will completely understand if the red head has had enough of New York.

"You can't get rid of me that easily Ashley." Katy smiles, as does Ashley at the use of her nickname. "I just need some time."

Ashley nods. "If you decide it's too hard to come back, I will understand. I just want you to be happy."

"I will be."

Just then Katy's mum, Mrs Peterson rushes into the room, she cools slightly when she sees Eden holding her daughters hand, and her daughter looking a lot more alive than she sounded on the phone earlier. Ashley takes this as her cue to leave. She leans over and kisses Katy on the cheek; she leans back and looks her dead in the eyes.

"Never ever believe that I think my life would be better without you in it okay. I have fought to have you in my life; I want you to fight too okay."

Katy nods, far too emotional to speak. "If you being a part of my life is too much, then forget about me. Do for you alright. It would hurt me to have to live without you immensely, but I would do anything to make you happy, and if that's what you need then that's what I'll do. I'll stay away."

This scares Katy. "No Eden, I need you in my life. I just need to get used to you being in my life in a different way."

Ashley nods, and moves towards to Mrs Peterson, she pulls her into a hug and whispers into her ear. "Look after her."

She looks back at Katy. "Keep in touch."

Katy nods, and embraces her mother. Ashley wanders out of the room, and back in the direction of her wife. Stella rises immediately.

"How is she?"

"She's a mess emotionally. But I think she's going to be okay."

Ashley places her arm around her wife, it's gone 3am and she is exhausted. "Let's go home."

Stella is more than a little worried about Eden's emotional state right now, but she guesses heading to bed is probably the best course of action for right now.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Next time out, more Mac and Christine, Katy returns from Providence. Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Drop me a review or a tweet at Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	38. Chapter 38

**Bit of drama in this one I'm afraid. As always sorry it's taken so long! Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

It's currently 5am on this bitter Saturday morning in New York City. Ashley actually has the day off work today. But she also has two children, and Theo decided he wanted to play. So here they are Ashley sitting on the couch, and Theo happily bouncing away on her knee, watching some multi coloured mayhem on the TV. Kids TV freaks Ashley out a little, but the twins are at that stage now, where they love colours and music. They have just passed 3 and a half months, unfortunately they are also at the stage where they are putting everything in their mouths, the amount of time Ashley thought she was getting a kiss from one of her children and ended up with a chin full of drool. But she wouldn't change it for anything.

She wouldn't change this Saturday morning for the world, her and Theo enjoying some quality Mother, Son time, while her two girls continue to sleep. As happy as she is right now, and has been for pretty much the last 4 years, she feels like a cloud is hanging over her. It's a little over a month since Katy decided the world was better off without her, and attempted to take her own life. Ashley hasn't heard from her since that day in the hospital, and it's killed her, but she understands that Katy needs the time to get better. She hopes that she succeeds; more than anything. She's heard a rumour through Flack that Katy is returning to work next week. Ashley is looking forward to it and dreading it in equal measure.

Theo squeals with delight at something or other on the TV and Ashley is pulled from her thoughts. She hates that all she's been thinking about recently is Katy, not all the time, but in quiet time when she has a moment to herself; this time used to be filled with thoughts of Stella and Theo and Elissa. Stella can tell her mind has been elsewhere, of course she can, but to be fair to her, she's let Ashley be, she really does have the most understanding wife. It's their 2 year wedding anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks and Ashley decides she will make it one to remember for her beautiful wife. Because really Ashley knows, Stella deserves better than she's been getting over the last month or so.

She's disturbed again by the sound of footsteps, and looks over to see her stunning spouse slowly walking towards her, tying her dressing gown as she meanders over, and trying to rub the tiredness out of her eyes. Ashley smiles, and says quietly.

"Hey, what are you doing up? It's only just after five, go back to sleep."

Stella plonks herself on the couch next to her wife and son, the latter has dragged his eyes away from the TV for a second to acknowledge the arrival of his Mom, which he does so with a smile before quickly turning his attention back to the colours and shapes.

"I woke up and you weren't there. I couldn't get back to sleep." Stella explains.

"Sorry wifey, but our very demanding son absolutely couldn't miss this episode, it's integral to the whole series." Ashley smiles.

Stella looks at the TV and laughs. Before turning her attention back to Eden, she leans across and kisses her wife, before leaning her head on her shoulder and closing her eyes again. Ashley kisses the top of Stella's head, and thinks the only thing missing here that would make this a perfect Saturday morning is Elissa. But she's sure their beautiful daughter will be joining them fairly soon.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley has just gotten through Monday at work, she's been on edge all day thinking maybe she would see Katy, or maybe he ex would come to see her. But she's just reached the end of her shift and nope, not one sign of her. Ashley knows she told her if it was too hard for her to be part of her life she would step back, but she really hoped it wouldn't come to this. She hoped they'd be able to find a way to co-exist as friends.

The thought that this apparently isn't going to happen, makes Ashley sad, her heart is heavy with sorrow. She has decided that a few drinks are the way forward, so she's roped a reluctant Adam into joining her at Maguire's, he's reluctant because he's seen this mood in his friend before, she doesn't want to go for a couple of drinks to have a good time, she wants to get hammered, usually to forget. But he supposes better she does it with him present than alone. He knows Ashley in the kind of mood she's in right now, would have no problem drinking alone.

They have been sat at the bar pretty much in silence for the best part of an hour. Ashley started on whiskey, Adam tried his best to discourage her but she was having none of it. To be fair though she's only had a couple, but the last thing he wants to do in send her home to Stella in a state.

They are sitting on bar stools, but facing away from the bar, people watching in happy silence. That is until something; or rather someone takes Ashley's attention. Katy has just entered the bar. Ashley's jaw drops, Adam doesn't appear to have noticed. Katy spots Eden, and heads right over to her smiling. Maybe she isn't cutting her out of her life after all.

Katy pulls her into a hug. "Here you are."

"Hey." Ashley is confused.

"Sorry I couldn't come to see you earlier, but I've been swamped, first day back and all." She seems genuinely happy.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel great actually, a lot better than I was. I'm seeing the department shrink, bosses orders, and I think she's really helping me."

"That's great news." Ashley can't remove the smile from her face.

"I was thinking we could get together soon, all of us, me you and Stella, maybe grab dinner or something?"

"Are you sure?" Ashley is delighted at the suggestion, Katy really does seem like a whole new person, no that's not right, she's back to her old self, the Katy she knew all those years ago, that same magic has returned to her eyes.

"Eden honestly, I was in dark place back then. I'm not there anymore, and I don't intend on ever going back." She sounds so resolute; Ashley can't help but believe her.

"That means so much to me." Ashley really does feel like a massive weight has been lifted. "Why don't you join me and Adam for a drink now?"

Adam who has watched the exchange so far reaches across his hand and shakes Katy. "Nice to see you again Katy."

"You too Adam." She focuses her attention back on Eden. "I would love too, but I'm meeting someone."

This causes a whole new set of feelings in Ashley. "Who are you meeting?"

Katy's attention is taken by a woman entering the bar, the gorgeous blonde smiles and waves as soon as she sees Katy. "Right that's me. We'll arrange something soon okay?"

Ashley just nods; it's all she can manage. Who is this woman? She watches as Katy catches up to her and pulls her into a hug, they are both smiling and obviously happy to see each other. The blonde then kisses Katy on the cheek, before they make their way over to the bar to buy a drink. These two are obviously more than just friends; and Ashley isn't sure how she feels about that. Obviously she's aware she has no right to feel anything other than happy that her friend appears to be moving on finally. But this is something she thought she'd never have to deal with, seeing Katy with someone else. She isn't prepared for it, and it makes her feel uneasy, dare she say it, jealous even?

She hates these feelings, she can't be jealous surely, she's with Stella, and she loves Stella. But the thought of Katy with someone else, makes her skin crawl. All of sudden she gets a small insight into just what Katy has been going through in the last few months seeing her an Stella together, and it makes her feel awful. It makes her feel like drinking.

**XXXXXXXX**

Ashley has been watching Katy and her date for the last 45 minutes; it's become apparent that, that is definitely what this is; a date. She's also sunk a couple more whiskey's, Adam is still trying his best to convince her to go home. Ashley is ignoring him, she watches as Katy rises and heads to the bathroom, Ashley jumps off of her stool and follows her. Adam questions where she's going but his pleas fall on deaf ears.

Ashley enters the bathroom, to find Katy adjusting one of her earrings in the mirror. The red head smiles as she catches sight of Eden's reflection in the mirror, that is until she sees the expression on her face.

"Hey Eden are you okay?"

Maybe it's the drink, but Ashley has tunnel vision on, she just needs to know. "Are you on a date?"

This takes Katy by surprise, she feels her anger increase immediately, you see Eden didn't pose it as a question, more as an accusation.

"Yes." Katy answers honestly, not really sure what's going on.

Ashley feels like she's just been punched in the stomach, she loathes feeling like this. Stella flashes into her head, but she quickly moves that image into the back of her mind.

"Who is she?"

"Eden what's going on here?"

"You've been back from the dead a few months, and you've moved on already."

Eden is drunk, Katy can tell that just by looking at her, but she has no idea what's happening right now. "I thought that's what you wanted. You've got Stella, now I'm moving on too."

Ashley leans against one of the stalls; Katy is still looking at her ex girlfriend through the reflection in the mirror. She can't seem to stop herself. "Are you sleeping with her?"

"That's really none of your business." Katy's annoyance is rising by the second.

"It took me ten years to get over you."

"Eden, this isn't some great love affair, it's one date." She can see her ex really is struggling with this, so she tries to be kind.

Ashley moves towards Katy, and places a hand at either side of her on the sink. So she's basically encasing her from behind. Katy's breathing hitches as Ashley moves her face to her ear and inhales the scent of her hair; it's something that's uniquely Katy, her shampoo mixed with her perfume, mixed with the smell of her skin. Katy closes her eyes, as Eden moves as if she is going to kiss her neck. As she waits for those soft lips to hit the supple flesh on her neck, Ashley seems to realise all of a sudden that this is Katy, this isn't Stella, and if she goes any further, she will be ruining her marriage and her family.

When the lips don't hit Katy knows Eden has lost her nerve, and she for one is glad, because she knows she wouldn't have been able to resist her; and truthfully the last thing she wants to do is ruin Eden's life.

Ashley can't believe her actions. What is she thinking? She's one of those people, an 'I don't want you but I don't want anyone else to have you' person. The thought of Katy with someone else is upsetting, something she never thought it would be, and something she's obviously going to have to deal with. But the thought of her marriage to Stella being over is soul destroying, and it's that thought that brings her crashing back to reality.

She looks back up to the mirror to see a pissed off looking Katy looking back at her. She hates herself for doing this to her as well, after everything that happened last month, the last thing she should be doing is playing with this woman's emotions.

"I'm sorry. I've got to go."

Ashley speeds out of the bathroom; she makes her apologies to a bewildered Adam and then heads out into the crisp New York evening. She heads into an alley just by the bar, and loses her guts. She can't believe what she almost just did. She is instantly sober.

**XXXXXXXXX**

By the time Ashley arrives home, Stella and the babies are in bed. Ashley goes to her children's room and watches them sleep for a while, they really are her world, she knows it's such a cliché but it's true. She loves these two little people more than she thought was possible.

Ashley feels terrible, and selfishly she just wants to make herself feel better. She removes her clothes and slips into bed behind Stella. Her gorgeous wife stirs as Ashley places her arms around her.

"Hey how was the bar." Ashley can tell she's just woken her up.

She doesn't speak. She just moves Stella's hair from her neck and starts to kiss every patch of exposed skin she can find. Stella turns in Eden's arms, and pulls her into a kiss. It's a kiss that's filled with desperation and longing. She can tell there is most definitely something not right with her wife here, but when she pulls back to look her in the eyes and is just met with sorrow, she knows she needs comfort, so she attacks her lips again, ready to provide it without question.

**XXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, Ashley is up at the crack of dawn, she really dislikes the person she was last night, she feels like she used Stella to make herself feel better, and she's disgusted that she did that. So she has gotten up extra early, got the babies up, washed, dressed and fed them, before doing the same for herself. Theo and Elissa are now happily playing in the front room, and Ashley is sitting at the kitchen island finishing off her cereal when Stella walks in. She smiles over at their children, happy that they are dressed already, Eden has been busy. Busy avoiding her too though, they need to talk.

"Morning." Stella sits opposite her wife.

Eden feels foolish and actually rather timid. She knows Stella knows her inside out, she knows she will have questions about last night. "Morning."

Ashley looks down at her cereal bowl; Stella is not going to let her wife get away with not talking about this.

"So what the hell happened last night?" Straight to the point as per usual.

"What do you mean?" Ashley's not sure she can explain it.

Stella decides to be very clear. "When you got home from the bar last night. We. . ." Stella doesn't know how to word it.

"Made love?" Ashley offers.

That is definitely not what they did last night, and Ashley knows it, the look on Stella's face screams to her wife that she knows it too.

"You didn't make love to me last night Eden. You fucked me." Ashley closes her eyes at the harshness of the words. "Last night was not about love." Stella is getting angrier and angrier, and she deserves a better explanation.

"Now are you going to tell me what the hell is going on? Because I have tried to be understanding Eden, I know what you've gone through with Katy hasn't been easy. But it hasn't been easy for me this last month living with someone who has been in the apartment in body, but has been somewhere else in spirit, with someone else."

Stella can fell the tears forming in her eyes, but she's determined they will not spill over.

"I have been a terrible wife this last month. I know that."

Stella moves around the table and takes Eden's face in her hands. "Hey, you haven't been terrible, you've just been distant. I've been hoping you'd come and talk to me at some point, but you never did, and then last night?"

Ashley hasn't been as effective in keeping her tears at bay; they are now spilling down her cheeks. "I don't deserve you."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Stella makes herself comfortable on the stool again.

Ashley sighs. "Katy's back in New York. When I didn't see her all day, I thought that meant it was too hard for her to have me as part of her life. Which I understood, but I was upset at what I'd lost, so I asked Adam to go for a drink."

This is all understandable so far for Stella, she appreciates that Katy deciding she can't be around Eden would be hard for her wife to take, she's not a fan of the reintroduction of trying to drink away her grief, although she appreciates that she took Adam with her this time, that's something at least. Ashley continues.

"But when we got to the bar, we bumped into Katy and she had just been too busy to stop by the lab. She was fine, said we should all hang out sometime."

Okay now Stella is confused, that sounds great. Ashley who had still been staring at her cereal bowl, chances a look up at her wife. She can tell she's perplexed.

"She was on a date."

"What?"

"Katy was on a date in Maguire's last night. And I didn't know how to handle that?"

Stella heart starts beating faster, it seems to going at such a rate she's sure that Eden will be able to hear it. She almost doesn't want to ask the next question. "How did you handle it?"

"I never thought I would have to deal with seeing Katy with someone else you know. I mean she was dead." Ashley needs to try and get across where's she's coming from.

"Eden, how did you handle it?" Stella is really panicking now.

"I followed her into the bathroom. And I knew that all I would have to do would be to kiss her, and she'd drop her date in a second, and then I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore."

Stella's mouth is dry. "What did you do?"

Ashley looks her square in the eyes, tears still dropping. "I remembered that I have a beautiful wife and two beautiful children at home, and that I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise my family."

Pure relief. "Oh Eden, thank god."

"But Stella I thought about it."

A penny drops for the older woman. "And that makes you feel guilty."

"Of course it does."

"And that's what last night was about, you wanted to make yourself feel better for the guilt you felt."

Stella has hit the nail on the head, and it breaks Eden's heart. Stella continues. "You thought about cheating on me, and then you used me to make yourself feel better about it." She wants to be very clear.

"Yeah I'm a terrible person." Ashley's heart breaks a little.

Stella is inclined to agree at this precise moment in time. "Do you want her back?"

"No." Ashley is emphatic and instantaneous with her response.

"But you were jealous?"

"No, not really. I don't know what I was. I just never thought I'd have to deal with seeing her with someone else, so when it was right there and happening in front of me. I went a little crazy I think."

Stella is mad, Ashley can tell, she can cope with her being mad as long as she forgives her eventually, with this is mind she moves round the island to her wife.

"You have got to believe me Stella that's all it was. I just freaked last night, but even in the middle of it all, I knew I could never do anything that would risk my marriage. I love you; you know you are the one. I promise you I will never do anything like that again."

"How can you be sure? Say we get a couple of years down the line, and Katy meets her 'Stella' and they want to get married and have kids, is this going to rear its ugly head again?"

Ashley shakes her head. "If Katy is lucky enough to meet anyone who she loves, and who loves her half as much as we love each other, then I won't be able to be anything other than happy for her."

"You're sure?"

"Stella I'm positive. I hate myself that I put those doubts in your mind." Ashley's head drops again.

Stella pulls her into a hug. "Thank you for being honest with me. I need you to do something for me Eden."

"Anything."

"I meant what I said; when I said you haven't been here with me for the last month. You need to sort your head out." Stella takes a deep breath. "I think you should talk to someone."

"What like a shrink?" Ashley is not a fan.

"Well not necessarily a shrink, maybe just someone you trust to talk about your feelings with. I don't think looking in the bottom of bottles for the answers to your problems, is really working out very well for you."

"Point taken. Okay, I'll talk to someone."

Stella is shocked at how easily Eden has just agreed to this, she was sure there would be more in the way of a protest. "Really?"

Ashley smiles at the look of disbelief in her wife's face. "How many times, do I need to tell you that I would do anything for you, before you start to actually believe it?"

Stella smiles, and plants a quick kiss on Eden's lips.

"I've got to go. I'm already late for work." Ashley extricates herself from her wife, and moves to leave.

"Have a good day."

"I love you Stella."

"I love you too Shorty."

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley knows she's still got bridges to build with Stella, and rightly so. But right now she's more concerned with trying to fix her friendship with Katy. She's just crossed the threshold into the Police Department, she heads straight over to Katy's desk.

"Hey."

Katy looks up, and looks suitably unimpressed to see Eden. "Hi." It's short and curt.

"Do you have a second to talk?"

"What about?" Wow she really isn't going to make this easy for Eden.

"Please Katy, can we go and grab a coffee." Katy looks up ready to tell her former lover that she's busy, but the level of emotion, of shame in Eden's eyes makes her stop in her tracks.

She sighs. "Fine." She grabs her coat and follows Eden out of the building to the coffee cart in the street. They grab a couple of coffees and then park themselves on a nearby bench.

Ashley doesn't really know what to say. How does she begin to explain what happened last night, she's not really even sure she knows what happened herself. She knows she owes it to Katy to at least try though.

"My behaviour last night was out of order. I am so very sorry." She bows her head.

Katy looks at her determined to be mad at her, but in reality she understands it. Really she understands it better than anyone. Seeing Eden with someone else killed her, almost literally. She feels sympathy for her ex, she places a hand on her shoulder; this takes Ashley by surprise, her face registers as much, Katy can't help but smile as she pulls her into a hug.

"It's not easy is it?"

Ashley pulls back, grateful that her friend is willing to forgive her. "No it's not."

"How's Stella reacted?"

Ashley puffs out a breath and a half smile. "Not favourably."

"At least you told her."

"I was an idiot last night, I wasn't about to compound that by lying to her as well." Ashley feels raw.

"Good."

"She wants me to see a shrink." She's a little embarrassed by her confession, Katy picks up on this and tries to reassure her.

"It might not be a bad idea. An ex girlfriend coming back from the dead after 13 years, is bound to take its emotional toll on anyone."

Ashley can't help but chuckle. "It's not really me; talking to a shrink I mean."

"This isn't about you though Eden. It's about doing whatever it takes to save your marriage." Katy squeezes her shoulder.

"I never thought mine and Stella's marriage would need saving." Her heart sinks again at the thought.

"I don't think it does, not really. Maybe just a little medicine." Katy smiles again, glad that it seems they will be able to put the last month behind them and move forward as friends.

Ashley relaxes a little. "So how was your date?"

Katy raises her eyebrows. "Really?"

Ashley smacks her on the arm. "Come on, of course. I'm pretty sure I went temporarily insane last night. I want you to be happy Katy."

"Well okay. It was going great, until I came back from the bathroom crying like a baby. That kinda put a dampener on the evening." She nudges Ashley playfully to show her that she's not really mad at all.

Ashley cringes. "I am so sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It obviously wasn't destined to be."

"You know I know this barmaid called Caitlin, she's cute. I could get her number for you?"

They both dissolve into fits of giggles. That was it, they chatted happily for the next 20 minutes or so, Eden completely forgiven for her indiscretion the previous evening. By the end of their chat they both feel a lot better about their future; a lot more confident that they will become great friends.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley steps through her front door and into her living room, clutching the bouquet of lily's she's bought for her wife. Stella is in the middle of tidying up, she's had a mega stressful day with the twins, at points today she's actually looked forward to going back to work. She sees Eden coming towards her, and can't help the unimpressed look that takes over her face at the sight of the flowers.

Well this is going well so far, Ashley sighs.

"You're late." Stella carries on with her clean up.

Ashley looks at her watch, she's not really that late, maybe 30 minutes later than she should be if her shift finished on time, which it barely ever did. She concedes she is a little late, but with good reason.

"Been to Maguire's again?" Wow clearly Stella is still really pissed off; in fact she seems a lot more pissed off than she was this morning.

Ashley swallows the anxiety she feels, Stella is giving her what she deserves so she can take it. She moves towards her wife and holds out the flowers. "I bought you flowers."

Stella stops what she's doing and smiles; they really are the most striking bunch of Lilies. Her favourites. "Thank you, they're beautiful."

Ashley feels like she can breathe again. Stella still wants to know exactly where's she's been. "Is this why you're late is it?"

"No. But I haven't been drinking if that's what you're thinking."

Stella sees the remorse on Eden's face, and she hates that she's hurting her here, but she needs her to know that she's serious, she needs to sort herself out, if they're going to get their marriage back to the perfect place it was in pre Katy's return.

"So?" it pains Stella to be this harsh on her. But her shortness leaves Ashley with no doubt that her wife expects a full explanation as to why she's 30 minutes late home from work, which she still contends isn't really late. I mean last week she didn't come home at all one day due to work. Is this what it's going to be like now? Has she really messed this up so badly that Stella doesn't trust her anymore?

"I was uptown, making an appointment with one of those fancy psychiatrists. I guess if I'm gunna see one, they should at least be good huh? I'll be late again tomorrow; I have my first appointment for an hour." Ashley explains all of this with her head down, it's starting to sink in just how mad Stella is at her, and she can't bring herself to look at the older woman, she knows the tears she's frantically fighting to keep at bay will spill over if she does.

Stella knows how hard it must have been for Eden to do that, to book that appointment. She knows her wife hates the thought of a shrink, it shows Stella just how much she is willing to do for her. When Stella gave Eden the out, of saying she didn't have to speak to shrink, she was sure she would take it and just talk to Mac or Flack or someone. The fact that she's taken this step reassures Stella just how hard Eden is willing to work for this. She decides she should be working a little harder too, after all they are both striving for the same outcome. Stella puts her flowers down, and pulls her wife into a hug. That bursts the dam for Ashley, tears everywhere. Stella lifts her face up so she's looking her in the eyes.

"Thank you."

Ashley can't speak she just nods. Before burying her head back into the crook of Stella's neck. Stella closes her eyes and embraces her fully. They can get through this. If there's one thing she's certain of; it's that.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**So there you have it. A bit of trouble in paradise. I suppose it would be pretty boring if it was perfect all the time.**

**Next time round. Ashley and the shrink, plus she spends a little time with her boys. Stella and Katy reconnect. Mac and Christine make an appearance [I know I said that last time round!] Also introducing Detective Jamie Lovato for Flack!**

**Please take the time to review, or drop me a tweet at Eden_Ashley_Chr**


	39. Chapter 39

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you like it. It's all been a bit heavy recently, so the next chapter (after this one) will be a bit nicer, our ladies will be celebrating their 2 year wedding anniversary, and Stella will be back at the lab!**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. No infringement is intended. Eden Ashley is an original character. All mine.**

Ashley glances at the clock, and shuffles uncomfortably on the couch. She bites her bottom lip before glancing across at the woman, who has been intently watching her every move over the top of her glasses.

Still she says nothing. Ashley was under the impression that they were supposed to start these things? Sure Doctor Moore had introduced herself at the start of the session, and asked Ashley if she'd like a drink or anything, how she's wishing she'd taken up the offer of a glass of water right now, her throat is beyond dry.

But since then, nothing. Just this game of eye contact cat and mouse, as if they're both trying to fathom the other out, deciding if they should make the first move or not. It's only been 5 minutes; Ashley discovered that from her last glance at the clock; it feels like about five hours. If this is what every therapy session is going to be like, then as much as she loves Stella she's not sure she can cope.

Doctor Moore it seems will be the first to break. "Would you consider yourself stubborn Detective Bonasera?"

Ashley smirks. The psychologist is obviously referring to the fact that she knew she would have to start talking first, if a conversation was going to take place at all.

"Only slightly more stubborn than you it seems." She grins again. "Please call me Ashley."

This puzzles the Doctor, and she has no problem in voicing her confusion. "Why would I call you Ashley? Your first name is Eden?" She flips through her notes to confirm her thoughts.

Ashley sighs. "Ashley is my maiden name; it's what my friends call me. Like a nickname."

The younger woman watches as Doctor Moore seems to store that snippet of information somewhere in the depth of her conscious.

"So, why are you here Ashley?"

The Detective puffs her cheeks out and exhales loudly, what a question. Where should she start? Doctor Moore watches her as she struggles with how to begin to start explaining herself, but she doesn't speak, this needs to be in Ashley's own words.

She contemplates it internally for a second; for Stella? No that's not right, she's not here for Stella, well she is in a way she supposes, she wants to be a better person, for her wife and children, and the rest of her family and friends for that matter. She tries her best to resolve exactly why she's here.

"I erm." The words aren't coming very easily. "When I have a problem, I tend to run away." She clears her throat, yep, as dry as the Sahara. "I guess I tend to look for the answer in the bottom of a bottle."

She shrugs, and looks up at Doctor Moore, with a look that screams shame. Doctor Moore makes no judgement, or if she does she doesn't show it on her face.

"As opposed to what?"

This question takes Ashley by surprise, that's obvious isn't it? "To talking to someone."

"Why do you think that is?"

This is something Ashley has never really thought about, she just kind of assumed this is how she's always been, she never really scrutinised if there's an actual reason behind it. She guesses now is the time to do it. She starts to think out loud once more. Doctor Moore listens intently, and jots a few notes.

"I guess I've never really had anyone to talk to before." Doctor Moore raises her eyebrows, but doesn't speak, Ashley continues.

"My Mum threw me out when I was 15. So I moved to Chicago to live with my grandmother. She's great."Ashley nods, to really reaffirm this statement; she doesn't want Doctor Moore thinking badly of Audrey.

"I guess when I was 15 I didn't really want to talk. Then I met Katy when I was 16, on a school trip here in New York, she's from Providence."

"Katy?" Doctor Moore wants to get clear in her mind who all the people in the story of Ashley's life are.

"She was my first girlfriend, my first love. I moved to Boston to be with her when I was 18, well that, and I went to Harvard to start my CSI training. I could talk to her about anything. But I mean at that age, you don't really have problems, not real ones."

"But you felt that if you did, you'd be able to talk to Katy about them?" Ashley nods to confirm Doctor Moore's words are correct. "So what happened?"

It's apparent to the professional that something did. Ashley steadies herself; this isn't exactly her favourite topic.

"Katy and I were attacked. We were 20. I barely survived, and she didn't. Well at least I thought she hadn't?"

The older ladies professionalism drops for a second, she can't help but be a little bewildered by Ashley's latest statement, and she shows as much on her face. Ashley smirks a little.

"It's one hell of a story, but for now, let's just say, for the best part of 14 years, I thought she was dead. Now I know she's alive."

Doctor Moore is intrigued by what's to come relating to that story, but it can wait. "So you were attacked and your first love died?"

Ashley nods again before continuing. "I got better, it took a while but I finished school, and then I had to get away. I moved to Detroit. But I wasn't the same person that I'd been before. I said I survived the attack, but something inside of me did die that day."

Ashley struggles to put into words what changed, she's not entirely sure she knows herself. "I felt like all of the goodness in me had gone. I just felt so angry."She feels the same anger again. So mad that, that lunatic stole over ten years from her.

"It ate away at me. I didn't really know anyone in Detroit; my Gran was there for me obviously, always on the end of the phone if I needed her. But I just felt so poisonous I didn't want to drag her into this pit, that's what I felt like I was living in. In a dark endless pit."

A tear escapes her eye, as she remembers. "So instead I just withdrew, I threw myself into work, I guess that's how I became so good at what I do. But when I felt like I couldn't bear to feel anymore, which was a lot of the time." A wry giggle. "I drank, and it made me feel better. It helped me forget what a shell of a person I'd become. I guess since I was 22 years old that's all I've known."

"What's different now? Why do you feel you need to change your coping mechanism?"

Ashley smiles. "What apart from the obvious health implications?" It settles Ashley a little when Doctor Moore smirks at her comment. Perhaps she is human after all. She powers on and tries to give the good doctor an idea of just how much her family life has improved.

"I'm married now. I have twins, a boy and a girl." Ashley beams.

"So you're doing this for your wife?"

"No." Ashley is emphatic in her response. She doesn't want Doctor Moore to think she's doing this for the wrong reasons. "I'm doing this, because it's something I should have done a long time ago. And I hate that it's affecting my family now."

"Tell me how it is having an effect."

"I still run. Usually to the nearest bar. I know I can talk to Stella. She's my soul mate I can talk to her about anything. But it's just like running is my default setting, and I'm struggling to change that."

"Why do you think that is?"

Ashley is at a loss. "I don't know. It's not just Stella you know, I've got my Dad now, my two best friends, I could talk to any them about anything, and I know that. But I guess drinking to try and forget is the easy option." She shrugs again.

"Sounds to me like you've had a pretty hard life, the easy option must be quite appealing?"

Ashley smiles. "I'm not going to lie; I've had things happen to me that haven't been very nice. But I wouldn't describe my life as hard. It's been pretty brilliant, especially since I moved to New York. I feel like the haze lifted. Like I finally clawed my way out of that black hole. I guess I only really did half a job."

"When you've been doing something a certain way for so long, it's hard to recondition yourself. But the fact that you want to change it, is half the battle." Doctor Moore reassures her.

Ashley finds herself nodding again, she actually feels a lot better just for saying these things out loud. Maybe this therapy thing is a good idea after all. Maybe she should have done it years ago.

"Right Ashley, that's your first hour. Was it as painful as expected?"

Firstly she can't believe a full hour as gone already. Secondly it's been a revelation. "It's been interesting. Thank you."

The brilliant smile on the Detectives face, tells the doctor it's been a lot more than 'interesting' for the young woman. "So I'll see you again same time next week?"

"Yeah. Yeah you will."

"Even after I tell you about the homework?" Now it's Doctor Moore's turn to smile.

Ashley thinks she must joking, right? Apparently not. "You're serious aren't you?"

"I think you should just take it as read, that I'm always being serious."

"Okay." Ashley feels a little like she's back at school. "So what's the home work?"

"I want you to start talking about how you feel. It doesn't have to be about big things, you could just talk to someone about how you hate how much it snows in New York in the winter, or how much you love it if that's the case. You don't have to talk to Stella, it can be anyone."

She glances up at the young Detective who is listening intently. "It's about getting used to expressing yourself in the right way; you start with the small things and build up to the big things. The more you talk about your feelings out loud, the more you'll start to understand them."

She makes it sound so simple. "I guess it's worth a try."

"That's the spirit. See you next week Detective."

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley, feeling a lot more positive about the future, steps out of the grand Upper East Side building that houses Doctor Moore's office. It's prime real estate, another pointer towards just how good the therapist is at her job. She starts to stroll towards the subway station, when she sees a couple of familiar figures heading towards her, looking like they are having a great time in each other's company, dare she say they look smitten even.

She smirks as Flack looks up and sees his best friend.

"Ashley, what are you doing around here? It's a little up market for someone like you isn't it?"

"I was just thinking the same thing about you actually. But I guess you've gotta impress the ladies somehow, let's face it your sparkling personality certainly won't do the trick!"

Ashley giggles and looks over at Detective Jamie Lovato, who also has a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Don't let him fool you. This is the first time he's been to this part of town, and I know for a fact he had to take out a loan to pay for dinner." Ashley and Jamie both dissolve into giggles.

"Oh ha ha. Very funny Ashley." He gestures towards Jamie. "I take it you two have met before then?"

Ashley nods. "Yeah I've crossed paths with Detective Lovato a couple of times at work."

"Please call me Jamie."

Ashley smiles, before her attention is taken by Flack again. "We're actually just heading to the little Irish bar a couple of blocks over, why don't you join us for a drink."

Ashley actually feels her demeanour change. "No I can't I've got to get home to Stella."

"Come on, Stella won't mind if you have one drink with us."

Ashley thinks back to last night, and how angry Stella was, she doesn't want to risk that again. Flack studies his friend, he sees sadness on her face, something he's not really seen too much of in her before, and he's instantly, genuinely worried. Ashley swallows and looks him in the eyes again; she doesn't want this to get overly awkward in front of Jamie.

"Actually I'm off drink, so I really better be getting back."

Flack looks behind his friend at the building she has just exited, and sees the plaque on the wall describing Dr Moore's credentials which cements his worry. He places his hand on Ashley's arm. "Ash is everything okay."

She's filled with a sense of shame, but quickly replaces it with one of defiance. "It will be." Flack although no less worried, knows his friend means it.

Ashley really does want to get home. "Seriously guys go and have a good time. We can talk tomorrow." This is aimed firmly at Flack who nods vigorously to show he expects that chat to take place. "Really nice to meet you properly Jamie."

"You too Ashley." Jamie looks back and forth between the two friends, she knows Don well enough now, to know he's extremely worried about this woman.

They head in their separate directions, but Flack watches Ashley until she is out of view. It's only when Jamie pulls on his arm that he turns to move and get back to his evening, but he knows he won't settle until he finds out what is making his friend so miserable.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley strolls into her apartment, worried about what kind of mood Stella might be in today, but ready to deal with it no matter what, she knows she's the cause of this current tension in her marriage, so she can take it.

"Hi honey, I'm home." Stella smirks as she hears her wife's greeting.

She's still smiling when Eden wanders into the front room looking very pleased with herself. The younger woman takes in the scene before her and her smile doubles in size. Stella curled up on the Sofa nursing a mug of something hot, and Theo and Elissa laid out on their play mats in front of her, giggling away as they play with the mobiles hanging above their heads, and each other.

"I made you one."Stella nods towards the second cup of steaming tea on the coffee table.

Ashley leans over the back of the sofa and gives Stella a quick kiss, before grabbing her drink and sitting at the opposite end of the sofa, curling her legs up under herself, so she is facing her beautiful wife. She can't help but glance down at the two babies babbling away down below her. Her heart feels close to exploding point. She wonders if her children will always invoke this response in her, she hopes so.

Stella watches intently as her wife's face just promotes pure love, all of it emanating down at their children. It's the same look of pure love that Stella sees sparkling in her eyes, when Eden looks at her too. Ashley pulls her stare away from her children before she becomes mesmerised. She glances over to Stella to find that she's almost studying her.

Ashley blows on the steaming tea, before taking a sip, all the time thinking; thinking about what Doctor Moore had told her 'start to talk about your feelings'. She feels a little embarrassed for doing it, but here goes.

Stella is really intrigued, she's watching Eden have this almost internal struggle, and she wonders what's troubling her, it seems she's about to find out. Eden clears her throat before starting to speak.

"It's weird isn't it?" Ashley glances across at Stella to make sure she's listening; she is. She nods down at the babies. "I mean I always knew I'd love them more than anything. But I feel like my heart is gunna burst right out of my chest every time I look at them."

"I know exactly what you mean." Stella smiles before looking down at their still playing children, oblivious to the emotional affect that they have on both of their parents.

Ashley continues. "I should have known really. It's the same feeling I get when I look at you."

Stella whips her head round to her wife, and is met by the most brilliant smile. Maybe there is something to this expressing your feelings business. Ashley changes the subject.

"Are you all ready for tomorrow?" She places her mug back down on the coffee table and scoots over to her wife, pulling her into her arms. Stella allows herself to be encircled, as she really is dreading tomorrow.

Stella is due to return to work in the next couple of weeks, and as such they need to hire a nanny to help them out with the twins. They want the twins to be used to this new person, so they want to hire as soon as possible and then start to integrate this stranger into their lives. They have already whittled it down to the final three, and the final interviews are tomorrow. Stella is dreading going back to work, not because she doesn't love her job, she obviously does, but the thought of leaving the children, when she has been with them basically all the time since they were born, is frankly really upsetting.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Ashley can tell she's really not looking forward to it at all. "It was hard when I went back to work. I know it doesn't really compare. But it will get easier, and it makes the time you spend with them ever more precious."

Ashley doesn't take her eyes from the two giggling babies as she's speaking. Stella looks up at her wife. She seems different somehow, she had no idea one therapy session could reap such quick rewards, but she feels as though her wife has found peace with herself, as if she's resolved something. Stella can't help but ask her next question, and prays her wife is up to answering it.

"How was your appointment?" Stella holds her breath.

Ashley pulls her eyes away from the babies and looks back down at Stella, smiling the whole time. "It was eye opening."

Stella raises her eyebrows and waits for further explanation. "I guess I didn't think it would really be for me. But turns out it could be a match made in heaven. I just feel a lot better for talking about it, I feel like I'm really doing something about my problems now. I kind of feel like a weights being lifted I guess."

"You seem different, already. That's crazy isn't it?"

"I don't really think I'm any different than I was before, I just didn't really know how to express myself properly before, and now I'm starting to feel like I can do better."

"No more running away?"

"No more running away. I'll be running straight to you." Ashley tries to lighten the mood a little. "In fact you'll probably be sick of me pouring my heart out to you soon; you'll be begging me to go down the pub with Flack and Adam."

"Never, I'll always be here for you Eden, no matter what." Ashley kisses her on the temple, but Stella feels she needs to make something clear. "But Eden, you don't have to stop going to the bar with your friends. I don't think you're an . . ." Stella swallows.

"You can say it. Alcoholic." Stella hates the thought that, that word could ever be associated with her wife.

"I don't think I'm an alcoholic either. But I want to take a break from it, for me. To prove to myself, what I kind of already know. That I don't need alcohol, in any circumstances."

"I'm proud of you, for taking these steps." Stella really means it.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. I'm kind of proud of myself too."

"You should be." Stella thinks back to last night, and cringes at just how angry she was at Eden; she needs to make something else very clear to her wife. "I love you Eden. I know I was a complete bitch last night, but I don't want you to fear for our marriage, I really believe we can deal with anything. I want you to know that I'm going nowhere."

Relief almost visibly pours out of the younger Bonasera. "Thank God for that. Don't worry about last night, I deserved it."

"No you didn't. And I am sorry."

"Let's forget about it, and concentrate on our future."

"Deal." Stella cranes her head upwards, and takes Eden's lips with her own. Both women, happy, content and certain that their future will be one spent together.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Ashley is feeling a lot more positive about life today. Who knew therapy could be so life affirming. This morning she and Stella had interviewed the final three Nannies, and they had both confessed after they had all left, that they each had a favourite, and were delighted when they discovered that it was the same one.

But now Ashley is back at work, and hard at it processing evidence in the main lab, she's just preparing a slide to go under the microscope. In the hope that she can't identify some so far unidentifiable trace she pulled from a crime scene yesterday. Her attention is taken when a cup of coffee is placed next to her microscope. She glances up to see the smiling face of Don Flack.

"Flack hi." Apparently he's so worried about her, that he's come searching the lab at the first opportunity, to get this 'talk' out of the way.

Ashley removes her gloves and takes a seat; Flack grabs another chair and sits opposite her, before pulling the lid from his own cup and taking a sip.

"So Ash, what the hell was going on last night?" Flack gets right to the point.

"I'm in therapy." Ashley decides she may as well just get it right out there.

"And you're not drinking." Flack is almost thinking out loud. "You don't think you're an alcoholic do you?"

"No I don't. The therapy's more for the fact that I erm, don't really know how to handle my feelings in certain situations." Wow Ashley really can't shake this stigma that she's attached to seeking help in this way; she can't look Flack in the eyes right now.

"The not drinking is more for me, to prove that I can."

She chances a look up; his eyes are filled with compassion, rather than judgement. Which is what spurs Ashley on.

"What do you think?" This question surprises Flack. Ashley continues. "Because you know me, and if ever I drink it tends to be with you or Adam, and I guess you're the only person I know who knows someone who's had issues with alcohol."

"Sam." Ashley nods, she's met Flack's sister more than a few times, and she's managed to turn her life around now, but she knows from what Flack has told her that the younger Flack sibling had a real problem with alcohol dependency.

Flack sighs. "In all honesty Eden, I really don't think you're an alcoholic. I think you have a tendency to rely on it, when you're having a hard time, but I don't think you need it. Sam needed it; she was drinking in the middle of the day, letting it affect her job, every aspect of her life. I don't see that with you, not even close."

"You know I nearly lost my job back in Detroit due to drinking." Ashley shakes her head as she remembers her own stupidity.

"I mean I wasn't drinking on the job or anything." She wants to get across that she never compromised her professionalism. "But I racked up a couple of off duty DUI's. It was touch and go for a while."

"I didn't know that. You've never been that bad in New York."

"If I'd have lost my job back in Detroit, I would have lost everything. I wouldn't have had anything else to live for. That gave me the kick I needed I guess." Ashley shrugs.

This scares Flack, the thought that his best friend was ever that desperate. "But you know now right, that you have got this whole brilliant life to live for, and you can talk to me, to any us if you ever feel that desperate again."

"I know. Believe me the last thing I want to do is mess the life I have right now up, anymore than I already have."

Flack's not entirely sure exactly what's happened recently, although Adam has filled him in on the happenings in the bar the other night, he guesses that has played a big part. "Katy coming back from the dead hasn't been easy for any of us, so I can only imagine how it's affected you."

In the spirit of the homework handed to her by her therapist, she decides to try and give her friend an insight in to exactly what it has been like for her.

"From the moment I saw her, out there in that hallway." She gestures out into the corridor of the lab. "It's like my head has been in a bubble, and everything has been fuzzy. Then the twins were born and that just blew me away even more emotionally."

She sighs. "I guess I had these two huge emotional things happen to me in the space of a few days, and I didn't have a chance to deal with one before the other happened, I guess everything has been kind of left up in the air."

Ashley swallows, and Flack reaches across and grabs her hand. "I really thought she was dead Flack."

She can't stop the tears from falling. Flack pulls her into his customary bear hug, his heart breaking for this woman who has come to mean so much to him over the last four years.

"Shhhhssh." He kisses her on the head. "I know you did sweetie. We all did. But the fact is she isn't."

Ashley pulls back. "How do you deal with something like that?"

"Exactly like this kiddo. Talking to the people you care about, and as much as it might make you feel better in the short term. Drinking will only make things worse."

Ashley smiles. "Believe me I learnt that lesson in the worst way the other night."

"When you were out with Adam?"

She nods. "Yeah I got drunk, and nearly did something unforgivable."

"And that's what's spurred on the no drinking and the therapist?" Ashley nods again. "Then I'm glad it happened." This takes her by surprise. "If it means, that you will truly sort out whatever is going on in that head of yours, then I'm glad."

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it. I'm not sure Stella shares your sentiments."

Flack chuckles for a second, but then gets deadly serious. "Are you two going to be okay?"

Ashley thinks back to last night when she got home from Doctor Moore's, she can't help but grin at the memory. "We're going to be just fine."

Flack almost sighs with relief. "Good. If you ever need to talk, or need anything, you know where I am okay?"

"Thanks Flack."

"Anytime. Right I better go and do some work."

They bump fists and Flack exits the lab, Ashley watches him go thankful that she has so many good people around her now.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Lindsay has the day off work today, so she and Stella have packed up the kids and headed to the local park. Lucy is manically playing on the swing set; Theo and Elissa have succumbed to the walk and are currently asleep in their double stroller; and Stella and Lindsay are sitting on a bench within touching distance of the swings, so they can keep a close eye on Lucy.

"I can't believe how big they're getting." Lindsay's gaze is firmly on the twins. Who look huge compared to the last time she saw them, which was only a week or so ago.

"Yeah, they're getting to be a handful." Stella smiles. "How did you feel about coming back to work after you had Lucy?"

"Awful." Lindsay answers honestly, they both chuckle. "But it gets better."

"That's what Eden said."

"When are you coming back?"

"Just over two weeks." Stella sighs; she really is dreading it and looking forward to it in equal measure.

"They will be fine. And I for one can't wait to have you back at the lab." Lindsay nudges Stella playfully as she speaks, causing the two women to smirk.

"Eden's in therapy." Stella didn't mean for it to come out like that, she's not sure she intended it to come out at all, but she feels like she needs to talk to someone about it.

This has taken Lindsay by surprise, she had no idea. "Why?"

Stella swallows. "Katy coming back from the dead really hit her for six I think."

Lindsay nods. "Yeah that's got to be difficult for anyone to deal with."

"It just dug up a lot of issues that have always been there with Eden, and made them ten times worse." Stella looks at her own feet.

"Like what?" Lindsay has never been as close to Eden as say, Flack, Adam or even Danny for that matter, but she hears snippets here and there.

"She runs away from her problems, or she tries to drink them away, or both. She makes bad decisions when she's drunk and hurting." Stella still can't bring herself to look at Lindsay.

"She hasn't done anything stupid has she?" She places a hand on her friends shoulder.

"She saw Katy with someone else, and because she hasn't really dealt with the fact that she's back properly, and she was drunk at the time. . ." Stella's not sure how to word this.

Lindsay holds her breath, but squeezes Stella's shoulder to try and encourage her to continue. "She nearly kissed her."

"Nearly?" Lindsay releases the breath she had been holding.

"She thought about doing it." Stella feels really emotional; it's like saying these things out loud for the first time makes them more real.

"But she didn't?"

Stella shakes her head. "No. She said she could never do that to me, that she went temporarily insane."

Lindsay can tell Stella is really struggling with this. "I never thought she'd even think about cheating on me. I guess I thought I had the fairy tale you know?"

Lindsay nods. Boy does she know. "I told you about when Danny cheated on me, before we were married, before we were serious really."

Stella nods. "It happened when Ruben was killed."

Stella instantly knows Lindsay is referring to Danny's next door neighbour who had been accidently shot whilst in his care. Lindsay continues her story.

"Greif does weird things to people, makes them act in ways they would never dream of usually. With Eden she'd been grieving for what 13 years, and then found out that it was all a waste. I can't even begin to imagine what she is going through right now."

She places her arm around Stella. "But I promise you, she is still the amazing person that you fell in love with, the fact she's getting help, proves that. Danny messed up, but he still turned out to be my prince charming. I know for a fact you will get Eden back."

Stella leans her head on her friends shoulder, she has tears falling from her eyes, they're a mixture of happy and sad tears. But truly Lindsay's words have just made her feel one hundred percent better about her current situation.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**As always please review, or drop me a tweet at Eden_Ashley_Chr**


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